Heading for Myrtle Beach!

Charlottesville Virginia was our next destination.... miles of green shaded parkways and our campsite was again very deep in the woods. I've come to the conclusion that woods and campsites always go together, unless you are in Las Vegas which of course is looking better these days. It's  no secret I'm not a fan of the woods unless there's a Target on the fringe of the camp site. If Target would let us park in their parking lots overnight like Walmart does, we could save a ton of money on campsite rent! Well a girl can dream...

Our view of  the woods in Charlottesville VA.

We visited the longest outside walking promenade in the country which is in trendy downtown Charlottesville, great burger place with delicious truffle fries!


Downtown Charlottesville

So, let me talk about Myrtle Beach, I certainly had a completely different idea of Myrtle Beach than what it was... in my imagination it was cool, laid back, a Nantucket Island kind of place, boy was I wrong! Completely wrong! Thousands of tourists wrapped in towels roaming the streets, Manhattan style traffic all day! Loads of moderately priced seafood restaurants that seated 1000 people minimum.

Myrtle Beach on a sunny day!

We did find a fabulous local spot called the Noizy Oyster. Piles of Shrimp thrown on the table, 10 tables in the whole place with waitresses that have worked there for years. The highlight of our week in Myrtle Beach!!!


We also celebrated the Captains birthday with some cake and fun gag gifts so it wasn't a total loss. I promised him a proper birthday dinner when we arrived in Savannah Georgia. I delivered with a fancy dinner on the Savannah riverfront with live music and fine spirits!


We made our way back to Florida in the" heavy" summer rain and as usual Captain Jay handled
the  coach with ease. It was the end of the journey when we returned back to John Prince park.

Back where we started...

We planned to spend some time with family for a few weeks and plan the next journey back up the east coast for a family wedding in New Hampshire in September.

Our plan for this journey is in the works with stops in Virginia Beach, Southern Connecticut and a few state Rest Stops along the way!

With renewed energy and spirit my friend Captain Jay and I promise to regale our friends and family with many new stories and pictures from the road in September.

Pennsylvania and Portland

Jay's very dear friend of 30 years Sandy lost his brief hard fought battle with cancer recently. With a heavy heart Jay and Savannah made the trip from Florida to Pennsylvania without me. I was scheduled to attend my grandson's graduation in Portland Maine on the same weekend of Sandy's celebration of life so I couldn't attend.
I flew up to Boston and drove to my daughter Kristin's place which is in Western Massachusetts, her place is as woodsy as any campground as I've been in!

Kristin's scenic and charming home

Kristin and Barbara road tripping to Portland

We drove up to the Portland Maine area after a stop in Kennebunkport Maine on Barbara Bush's birthday, coincidentally, which is where the Bush's reside and Barbara B. is really loved in these parts. It is the ideal seaside town and I'd love to spend some time in one of the adorable Inn's in the future.

A seaside delight

We made sure we visited our friend Dave Shima who owns Mornings in Paris Bakery to have some authentic French pastries! If you get to these parts this is an important stop!

Ooh La La!

We continued our journey up to Portland for the graduation and I beamed with pride to see my grandson Jacob get his diploma.

So proud of Jacob!

If you haven't ever been to Portland Maine put it on your bucket list. It has great restaurants and is truly a beautiful seaside town. I'd live there in a heartbeat if it didn't have "winter". Lobster is so plentiful and cheap in the summer.

After the graduation I flew to Philadelphia to rendezvous with Jay. We spent a several days in Robesonia Pa. at an RV park deep in the woods with no Internet, probably a good thing because we needed some down time after a week of travel for both of us in different directions.

Our late friend Sandy was a dear man and we truly enjoyed our road trip up the California coast in January with he and his wife Chris touring Long Beach and Malibu. His passing left us with hearts full of sadness. Rest in Peace dear Sandy, you were quite a guy.

Jay, Sandy and Chris in Long Beach California in January.

Pennsylvania is a stark contrast to the area's we visited out west, the greenest lushest places your mind could imagine.

The Rolling Green Hills in Pa.

It's also home to the Amish so we enjoyed seeing some different cultures and sampling some local food at the Farmers market, Jay raves about this delicacy called ring bologna, I'm not so sure!

An Amish Buggy

Of course we also enjoyed pretzels and frozen custard since this is so popular in these parts! When in Rome... We also went to a ball game in Reading Pa. with our friends Tom and Kathy. It was so fun!

Batter Up!



How did this Pretzel end up in my Lap?

Eagles Peak RV park was great destination for RV'ers with lots of kids in Golf carts, 2 pools and 3 waterslides and the weather cooperated all week .

Eagles Peak RV Park

Summer Fun

The Eagles Peak Antique Fire Truck

We really enjoyed visiting this quaint area of Pennsylvania and I imagine we will be back when we travel up to New Hampshire in the fall. We didn't get to Hershey this trip, but it's on our list for the fall trip!

Our plan was to head south to Charlottesville Virginia with our eventual destination being Myrtle Beach for a week of Sun and Fun.

The Big Ship Versus The Land Yacht

In the last 10 years I've taken almost 40 cruise vacations and then we brought home the RV.  I haven't been on a cruise since. This cruise was special, a nice opportunity to spend 5 days with my 18 year old grandson, Jacob. This was his first cruise, my gift to him for his high school graduation.  I couldn't wait to experience it through his eyes. Boy did I see things differently this time!

One of the pools aboard the ship

Yes, I went on 40 cruises, I enjoyed these vacations, sometimes I went on these trips alone, it worked  for me, all inclusive, free drinks, gourmet food and I didn't have to lift a finger, no beds to make, no laundry to do, you get the picture. After our 285 day trip in the coach I was ready to enjoy the crystal blue water, the umbrella drinks and the exotic ports of Jamaica and Haiti.

The Big Ship

Jay drove us down to the port in Ft Lauderdale and dropped us off for our big adventure!

We were so excited, I brought a gallon of sun block for this kid, he lives in Maine. I couldn't send him home with a sun burn although he could show off to his pale friends, blisters and all.

Once we were on the ship Jacob thoroughly enjoyed access to all the fancy buffet food and our gigantic suite with a balcony. We did the grand tour, look at all these pools! A lot to take in on the first day!

More Pools!

We had lunch and Jacob ate not 1 but 2 burgers!  I was all about showing this kid a good time and that's exactly what happened!

Yes, I can eat 2 burgers!

The weather was pristine and we went on a great private tour of Ocho Rios Jamaica that ended with the tour guide preparing Jerk Chicken on the grill on the beach for us! Since Jacob was 18 he was able to have a Red Stripe beer, just one!

The Grill

The Beach in Jamaica

The next day we enjoyed an amazing beach day floating on a raft in Labadee Haiti. We also had a sumptuous barbecue, ribs, chicken and more burgers!

Labadee Haiti

A Beautiful beach and a great pedicure!

Overall it was a wonderful experience with my grandson, that's what I enjoyed the most.

My dinner date

The cruise experience for me, not so fun anymore... It's me, I know it is, I've changed. The ocean is beautiful, but it was more beautiful seeing it thru the windshield on the Gulf coast last summer. The food, I've enjoyed some of the best meals on a picnic table in Santa Fe New Mexico. The people...all those thousands of people standing in line, shoving and pushing, saving beach chairs around the pool at 6am. None of that used to annoy me, guess what, I'm officially "over it". The wonderful kind folks I've met on the road are not the same people in the buffet line, I just know that.
I think that Ship has sailed...

That ship has sailed...

All Roads Lead Home

Luckily, we had an uneventful drive up to Albuquerque New Mexico. While the weather in Las Cruces was blustery and cold, I would have liked a little more time there, we enjoyed some amazing pizza at a winery, and the best Malbec wine I've ever had, yes in New Mexico!
We made our way north up to Albuquerque and arrived early afternoon. At this point I knew we were headed back to Florida the next day and I was anxious to drop off the coach and get going.

Good bye for now..

We dropped off the coach, said a tearful good bye to our home on wheels and then headed up to Santa Fe under the threat of snow to stay overnight with Jay's sister. We had a superb dinner with Cindy and Michael and said good night because we were planning to get an early start the next day.
I am a weather watcher and they were predicting several inches of snow for the next day and I wasn't looking forward to traveling in those conditions! Thank goodness we have a Jeep!
As predicted we encountered a lot of snow, in fact, the entire first day we drove through snow all the way to Texas!

Our view for miles and miles and miles..

Jay has stellar driving skills and while it was slow we made it to the Texas border without incident.
We breathed a sigh of relief after this difficult trek and figured this would be the worst day of the 3 day trip. We had a big Texas dinner of Chicken Fried Steak and hit the sheets.
Well, we couldn't have been more wrong... we woke up to the worst ice storm I have ever seen!
I wanted to just call it a day and go back to bed, but, our desire to get home was stronger! We had to pull over a few times and for a few hours we didn't drive over 30 miles per hour. 

Most of the trucks were pulled over!

Note the ice on the windshield.

I just kept thinking we are heading home to 80 degree weather and we were so ready. After a few months of unseasonably cold temperatures it was time for some balmy temperatures and those tropical swaying palm trees.
Finally we arrived in New Orleans about 8 pm. I am embarrassed to admit we had dinner in a truck stop and fell into bed exhausted, no fabulous food like we had a few months earlier it was just eat, sleep and drive! FYI, Truck stops in the "Big Easy" aren't so great!
The next morning we awoke to dismal fog, but at least it was about 60 degrees and the ice and snow was behind us. The fog burned off and before long we hit the Florida border. If you have ever traveled the north/south corridor of Florida it's the longest damn trip you will ever take!  Dozens of small towns and finally the Florida turnpike south of Tampa. By noon it was 80 degrees and sunny.
We arrived home at about 6pm and we were elated to see the waterfront, the park and all our friends in the building where we live.

Our little slice of heaven, for now...

How long were we gone? 285 days!
It was an amazing journey and so now we will sit still for a while, spend time with family and friends and of course plan our next adventure!
In the interim I will be taking a cruise with my grandson and I look forward to reporting on this adventure!  There's some material worth writing about, trust me!

A completely different adventure!

Jay will head out to New Mexico in May to pick up the coach and bring her back to Florida. I will skip that trip but I am anxious to see the coach again and think about our next adventure, the east coast this summer, first stop Myrtle Beach North Carolina!

First Stop

Last Blast thru Las Cruces

The uncertain weather propelled us over to Las Cruces New Mexico for 3 days on our way to Albuquerque. After beautiful weather in Tucson we encountered cold blustery conditions in Las Cruces that made me yearn for the sunny south Florida even more. The RV park was literally perched on a mountain side that overlooked the city of Las Cruces, stunning views but man it was windy and cold!

I was  nervous because I was monitoring the weather conditions up in Albuquerque and it wasn't looking good... I had already packed away our winter clothing thinking we wouldn't need a coat since we were ultimately heading south baby!

what a great view

 Sunday we dressed in layers and headed out to find Old Mesilla Plaza which was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1961. Mesilla served as the capital of the Confederate Territory of Arizona. The village of Mesilla was incorporated in 1848 after the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo moved the US Mexico border south placing it in the United States. This town is rich in history, the area attracted such figures as Billy the Kid and Pancho Villa and was the crossroads of two major stagecoach lines, Butterfield Stagecoach and Santa Fe Trail.

Old Mesilla square

Billy the Kid has his own gift shop!

We wandered around, chatting with the shopkeepers and enjoyed the charming architecture. I asked one of the locals where he eats lunch and he sent us to a place off the beaten path called Andeles. It was packed for lunch and I know why, authentic Mexican fare!We ate a hearty lunch and had enough to bring home for dinner!

Pork Tacos, lunch and dinner

The interesting thing about this area of  New Mexico is that there are more than 60 wineries, it doesn't make sense to me based on the fact we are in the desert but it must work. We visited the Luna Rossa Winery the next night and had the best green chile pizza with some 2012 Malbec, what a combo! Las Cruces is the second largest city in New Mexico, a population of 95 thousand and 375 restaurants. I think we need to make a follow up visit when it's warmer!

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How about these views?

It was time to hit the road to Albuquerque, the previous day there had been 50 mph winds, thankfully our travel day was sunny with calm winds.

Adios!

Scenic Overlook

 

Things I Learned in Tucson

We arrived in Tucson on Monday afternoon, the weather was sparkling, sunny and warm, just perfect! This was our first stay at a KOA park and WOW have we been missing out! This park is just beautiful. The staff welcomed us warmly and I had a feeling this place was going to be fun! Every park has a vibe, good or bad and you feel it right away... Friendly staff, an upscale check in area with a store, recreation area and best of all a bar and restaurant, a sign said Happy Hour 4-6pm.  What time is it?!

The check in and outside patio.

We settled in to our space and lo and behold it's right across from this mecca of food and drink!

Home sweet home

Look at this grass, In Arizona!

My research serves me well and this place is even better than it looks on-line. We couldn't get settled in fast enough, we were ready for a nice dinner and a Happy Hour libation! I wasn't disappointed, the food was good and my Martini was only $3.75... Impressive!

This park was also full of fruit trees, lemons, oranges and grapefruit and it's free for the picking!

Help yourself, I did!

I noticed there was a Lazy Days RV dealership right next door to this park.

More than just RV Sales

I found out they offer RV driving confidence courses to all their customers after the sale. They also put them up in this park in their new RV's so they can get familiar with their new coach, that way if they need any help or support the new owner can pick up the phone and get help immediately. They come right over in a golf cart! When we bought our coach from another dealer we were given the keys and sent on our way, end of story. We figured it out, but I can tell this, when we trade up we won't return to that dealership. Good Customer service creates loyalty, referrals and return business, I am a big stickler on that and when we do move up to another coach we are going to LazyDays and here's why... We walked over to this dealer because I wanted to find out if I could take the RV driving confidence course even though we hadn't bought our coach there. The receptionist was so nice and said "of course you can"! There was a small fee and I was more than willing to pay this because I feel I need to learn to drive in case there was an emergency, sometimes I've even been a pensive co-pilot because I don't have this skill! Helpless does not look good on me!

I'm in the drivers seat!

Thursday I went to the class that was divided into two parts, morning in the classroom and afternoon in a coach! The instructor Jon Gold was just phenomenal, he shared that he was a former Army Colonial and within his course curriculum he had some colorful stories the kept the class thoroughly entertained! I learned so much about class A coaches, safety and common sense, how to keep your tires maintained, fire safety, braking, parking, tail swing, it was a lot of great information!

I think I'm ready to drive! The idea of driving this 45 foot motor coach had me a bit spooked! I kept reminding myself how many women I've met in our travels who drive these buses, I can do this!

This was what we drove.

After lunch we met outside where Jon spent significant time explaining the instrument panel, the braking options and anything else we needed to know. I was like a sponge taking this all in.
Jon drove over to an empty lot where he showed us the amazing turning radius of this 45 foot coach, he made it look so simple. Next, he drove back over to the RV park where we were staying and said "this will be our driving course"! Again I said to myself, I can do this.... There were 5 other women  including a new LazyDays employee Laura taking the course and we were each going to drive! I was the third to drive, I settled in to the drivers seat, buckled up and took my orders from the Colonial!

Jon was a great instructor.

 He was very specific in his instructions and feedback, just what I needed to feel comfortable. Turn left, turn right, slow down, brake, check your mirrors and stay in the middle of the road! The last thing I wanted to do was hit anything in this impressive coach!  I finally drove this rig and it was amazing! This old gal can learn something new! It turned out to be so much easier than I thought it would be, you do need instruction from a professional and I was so happy I took this course! Of course, a skilled instructor is key and Jon Gold delivered! I even received a certification for insurance purposes. 

LazyDays offers many types of courses for new RV'ers.  Jon told us he was teaching a Convection Oven cooking course the following day and invited the class to attend. I am fairly proficient with our convection oven but, I thought why not, Jon promised us brownies!
The course was so much fun and Jon de-mystified convection cooking for the class, many in the class hadn't attempted to use the oven in their coach yet. He prepared Baileys Irish brownies and Chocolate Lava cakes, both were delicious and easy recipes, mystery solved!

 My overall observation of LazyDays was this... They have happy engaged employees and this was a great place to do business, they really have it figured out and we'll be back!

what a great stop!

Next stop Las Cruces.