Meetup with Bill and Sebby (9/25/19)

Adirondack Hot Air Balloon Festival (Day 4 - 9/22/19)

Adirondack Hot Air Balloon Festival (Day 3 - 9/21/19)

Adirondack Hot Air Balloon Festival (Day 2 - 9/20/19)

Adirondack Hot Air Balloon Festival (Day 1 - 9/19/19)

Overnight at Lake House (9/2/19)

Long Point State Park (Day 4 - 7/25/19)

Long Point State Park (Day 3 - 7/24/19)

Long Point State Park (Day 2 - 7/23/19)

Long Point State Park (Day 1 - 7/22/19)

Hudson Valley Trip (Day 5 - 7/5/19)

Hung out on the dock at Jesse and Kellys until mid morning taking in the morning light, birds and sounds of a morning on Seneca Lake. Headed to the outlet mall in Waterloo. We decided to stop borrowing kitchen utensils for the camper van and spent time in the Kitchen Connection provisioning the kitchen of the campervan. Still have some things to get but we are well on our way.

Hudson Valley Trip (Day 4 - 7/4/19)

Breakfast at Hudson Valley Distillery

Had a leisurely breakfast with Susan before leaving our Harvest Host, the Hudson Valley distillery. We drove north to Catskill NY. We stopped at Olana (https://www.olana.org/) for the day, it was the home of Frederick Church who was a landscape painter in the later part of the 1800s. We toured the home and learned about his life, the home and his art.

Hudson Valley Trip (Day 3 - 7/3/19)

Hudson Valley Trip (Day 2 - 7/2/19)

Stayed at an Orchard

Hudson Valley Trip (Day 1 - 7/1/19)

Hymer Get Together (Day 6 - 6/11/19)

Hymer Get Together (Day 5 - 6/10/19)

Hymer Get Together (Day 4 - 6/9/19)

Hymer Get Together (Day 3 - 6/8/19)

Hymer Get Together (Day 2 - 6/7/19)

Hymer Get Together (Day 1 - 6/6/19)

South African Safari (Day 13 - 3/13/19)

South African Safari (Day 12 - 3/12/19)

South African Safari (Day 11 - 3/11/19)

South African Safari (Day 10 - 3/10/19)

South African Safari (Day 9 - 3/9/19)

South African Safari (Day 8 - 3/8/19)

South African Safari (Day 7 - 3/7/19)

South African Safari (Day 6 - 3/6/19)

South African Safari (Day 5 - 3/5/19)

South African Safari (Day 4 - 3/4/19)

South African Safari (Day 3 - 3/3/19)

South African Safari (Day 2 - 3/2/19)

South African Safari (Day 1 - 3/1/19)

Ugh we both love getting up at 3:30 in the morning to catch a 5:30 flight! Our first leg of our journey is from Rochester to JFK where we catch a flight to Johannesburg South Africa.

Mark and Lynn picked us up a little after 4am.

We arrived in New York and had to change terminals which required a train and going through security. Arrived at the gate with plenty of time for our 11:40 flight. There was a little over an hour delay.

Home! (Day 30 - 2/21/19)

Our drive from our friends in Ephrata PA to Rochester was fairly uneventful. We drove by NYC and up the thruway since we needed to stop at Alpin Haus to have them service the Thule step for the passenger door. We spent a few hours as they diagnosed and tried to fix it, turns out it is the controller that they did not have a spare of on site. We got to Rochester around 8pm and met up with our friends Joe, Skip and Mike for dinner at Jeremiah's on Monroe Ave.

Ephrata PA (Day 29 - 2/20/19)

We drove from Raleigh and past DC. Usually the traffic around DC is terrible by since there had been less snow then predicted many businesses were closed for the day and the traffic was great! We arrived at our stoping location for the evening near Ephrata PA, the driveway of a friend. We arrived around 5:30 and visited with our friends Bruce and Cindy and had a nice dinner with them.

Raleigh NC (Day 28 - 2/19/19)

 I got up early to catch sunrise in hopes of some nice light, it was not to be however. An overcast day but great to be out wandering around the farm early anyways. A few more photos of the Alpacas and a shot of our parking spot for the evening.

We drove the day from Perkins GA to Raleigh NC to spend the night at my sister Kathy's. When we arrived we had a chore to do, that being winterize the van since we were about to enter freezing weather as we head north. I drained the fresh water tank and added a couple of gallons of antifreeze and then drew it through the system until the faucets were running pink with antifreeze.

Kathy treated us to a wonderful meal at Trophy Brewing in downtown Raleigh.

Mays Hill Alpacas (Day 26 - 2/18/19)

 Near our Harvest Host for the evening is Magnolia Springs State Park. This is a small park that is on the grounds of a civil war prison camp run by the Confederate army. It was built late in the war and was only in service for 6 months or so. The Spring generates millions of gallons of fresh water daily and is the home of many Alligators, turtles and large mouth bass.

Don't mind me just getting to know you 

 Quite possibly our favorite night of the trip was our evening at Mays Hill Alpaca farm in Perkins Georgia. The owners, Glen and Kathy were just amazing. They were gracious and extremely friendly. They took us to meet their Alpacas and as we approached a group of them one of the Alpacas ran toward us. Glen said to relax that she was the boss and was just coming to check us out. She ran over and started sniffing Irene. Once done Glen said, she knows you now.


They have 68 Alpacas, a number of goats and sheep. They also have crops and a herd of beef cattle on another plot they own nearby.

This was our forth harvest host visit on this trip. Each was unique and really great. If you travel in a self contained RV look into joining Harvest hosts!

Horse Creek Winery (Day 25 - 2/17/19)

Said our goodbyes to Gary and Peg, Sean, AnnieLaurie and Aden, Jesse, Kelly, Madison and Julia and started our multi day drive home. We drove up 19 and I don't think I have ever stoped for so many traffic lights ever! Just north of Crystal River we headed north east towards Gainsville. From there we jumped on 75 to Sparks Georgia where we are staying at a winery, part of Harvest Hosts.

Once we found the winery I did their tasting and then we headed out to explore a little. The town of Sparks is extremely sad. It looks like it once had a vibrant little downtown but not a single shop is ocupied in the buildings on the crossing streets. There is a Wal-Mart a couple of miles away is this one of the towns whose mom and pop shops was wiped out when Wal-Mart came to town? Dunno but ugh it is sad driving through nearly a ghost town.

Back to New Port Richie (Day 24 - 2/16/19)

While I was having my coffee on the porch of the Bee Barn a pair of Sandhill Cranes flew in and landed in the pasture next to where we stayed.

I grabbed the camera and got a few shots, really fun to see them.

We stopped at Alafia State Park for a hike and lunch. It is quite a place for mountain biking. The park is interesting being a reclaimed area that was mined prior to the 70s. From there we went to the Manatee viewing area near a power plant south of Tampa. Unfortunately the Manatees had the day off so we did not see any.

From there we proceeded to Gary and Peg's in New Port Richie. We arrived in time to catch sunset on Green Key with Sean, Annie Laurie and Aiden.

The Bee Barn (Day 23 - 2/15/19)

Sandhill Crane

Love the green mask of this Egret

Stork

 Got our selves organized in the morning at our site at Myakka River and proceeded to capture some more birds before leaving the park. We will be back, this park is great and close enough to Sarasota to make trips fo supplies convenient.

There are three areas for camping the third with the highest numbers appears to be quite new. The dump station is outside of any of the three camping loops so if you are just traveling through get a pass for the day, enjoy the park and dump your tanks.

When we got to the Bee Barn (a Harvest Host in Zolfo Springs Florida. We picked up a few things in their shop and settled in for the evening in their yard. There is a pasture just to the east of their place with livestock. There were a large number of Ibis in the field and one that posed for a photo on top of his buddy.

Myakka River State Park (Day 22 - 2/14/19)

Happy Valentines Day!

Check out the flaps :)

We are back spending a night at Myakka River State Park thanks to someone cancelling. My goal this time was to capture birds in flight. Enough with the fish eating.

We left Fort Meyers and drove up 41 to Venice and then cut over to the park arriving mid afternoon.

I see you!

Fort Myers (Day 21 - 2/13/19)

Three weeks into our trip and encountering our first rainy day. Actually it is kind of nice to take a day without running around and just spend time in the van. We caught up on a little TV this morning, NCIS and Finding your Roots.

Visited Al and Ann at their home for a pizza dinner.

Fort Myers (Day 20 - 2/12/19)

Beach near lighthouse on Sanibel

Another beautiful day that was spent mostly on Sanibel Island. We luckily found a parking spot at the lighthouse. We wandered around the beach and then past the lighthouse which is on the eastern tip of the island.

Lucky catch with the iPhone

On our way off the island we stopped at one of the causeway parks and walked along. An egret landed in front of me and I got a very lucky photo of him just before he landed.

Sunset Fort Myers Beadh

Ann and Al at Doc Fords

We caught up with friends, Ann and Al Smith that I had not seen in many years. We had dinner with them at Doc Fords in Fort Myers. It was like we talked yesterday. It is great to reconnect and pick up where you left off.

Fort Myers (Day 19 - 2/11/19)

Got a late start to the day due to a few chores like laundry and getting our next few nights squared away. We had booked a night at a harvest host at Peace River Bees http://www.peaceriverbees.com/ for the evening of the 11th but decided to stay in the Fort Myers area for another few days so we moved our night with the bees to Friday evening. I was able to get a few more nights at our current location at an RV Park and another night back at Myakka River State Park.


I had a couple of work meetings and a visit to Planet Fitness then we spent the rest of the day on the beach at Fort Myers beach.

Fort Myers (Day 18 - 2/10/19)

Drove out to Fort Myers beach and then down to Lovers Key state park. We did a 3 mile hike at the park and then spent time on the beach.

We continued south to Naples where we discovered amazingly beautiful homes. It is supposed to be one of the richest communities in the country and the homes would indicate that may well be the case.

Cape Coral (Day 17 - 2/9/19)

Rotary Park

Four Mile Cove

Started the day at the farmers market in Cape Coral, picked up some peppers, asparagus and a melon. Back to Mark and Sandy's for an early lunch then visited two parks in Cape Coral - Rotary Park Environmental Center and Four Mile Cove Ecological Preserve.

Headed back to Mark and Sandy's for a bit and then on to the RV Park we had reserved in Fort Myers. It is a tiny spot in a sea of bigger rigs and some permanent structures.

Our Home for a few days :)

Leaving Myakka River State Park (Day 16 - 2/8/19)

Irene started the day with a great idea, how about a guacamole omelet?

Great way to start another beautiful day on the road. Last day in Myakka State Park, this place is a gem!


We did a last drive around the park and sat by Upper Myakka lake and had lunch.

Lunch Break - Beautiful

Mark and Sandy

Drove on to Cape Coral to spend the night in our friend Mark and Sandy's driveway.


Stopped at La Mesa RV to see if they could help out with the passenger side step that is not retracting, nope they were unable to so on to Mark and Sandy's.

Relaxed for a while after arriving then on to Big Blue Brewing for dinner. As with most breweries we have eaten at this one was great!

Myakka State park (Day 15 - 2/7/19)

Started the day pulling off the park road looking for birds to see and photograph.

Canopy walk got us over 70 feet above the forest floor with a 360 degree view of the park.  We Spent the remainder of the day around upper Myakka lake relaxing and checking out the birds.

 

 

At 5pm we took a boat ride around upper Myakka lake which provided information about the area and the lake as well as views of a Roseate Spoonbill that we hadn't seen anywhere else in the park.

Great Blue Heron

Roseate Spoonbill