Orlando Area (Day 8 - 1/31/19)

Augie and Irene on the tram

After doing a few chores this morning like laundry, shaving my face and getting an E-Pass we headed to Epcot for the afternoon.

Italy in Epcot

Dinner at Claddagh Cottage, a nice Irish bar. Scott and I had Chicken Tikka Masala Pasty which was great!

Cedar Key to Orlando (Day 7 - 1/20/19)

Irene heard owls in the evening and MaryEllen confirmed that is what she heard, me? I slept through them. Started the day with a nice sunrise.

Our first stop of the day was the Shell Mound that is about 5 miles from Cedar Key. We took a short hike around the mound which was created and inhabited around 500 BCE.

We took the west coast route 98 turning east around Homosassa Springs towards Orlando. We relaxed at Augie and Scott's home and then went to dinner and retired for the evening. Great night of sleep parked in the street.

St Marks to Cedar Key (Day 6 - 1/29/19)

Our parking spot for the night

Irene making Egg Salad

 We stayed at a Harvest Host that is the home of a local artist on Cedar Key. She was very friendly and gave us a ton of information about what to see and do while here on Cedar Key.

We wandered around the small, quirky little island. Walk at Cemetery point out on to a boardwalk along the water looking for birds.

Tiki Bar

Sunset from Tiki Bar

Fun finds wandering

Devil's backbone

On the way into the Cedar Key we saw a sign for the Tiki Bar and it said opens at 4pm. After returning from our walk at Cemetery point we found our way to the Tiki Bar. It is behind a small motel and as we approach we heard what sounded like a lot of people inside a small building that appeared to be built out of old doors and bottles. Inside it is quite eclectic and fun. What sold me was the amazing beer list, not the usual bud light etc but lots of craft brews. I had a great IPA.
Behind the Tiki Bar was a nice view of what I would imagine is an amazing sunset, but on the day we were there it was nothing much, but still beautiful.

Griffin GA to St Marks Boat Launch (Day 5 - 1/28/19)

I checked the weather in the direction we are headed and determined we could safely summarize Miles (our camper van). A winterized RV has non-toxic antifreeze in all of the water lines. In order to summarize you replace the antifreeze with fresh water. Upon leaving Griffin we had a full fresh water take and the lines were flushed.

Sparky the Firetruck

We proceeded to Macon GA and found a planet fitness for a quick workout then picked up a toaster at Target.

I had reached out to a Harvest Host in Cedar Key but felt since I reached out late we would head towards a free overnight spot at St Marks Boat launch which I found on iOverlander. This is along the St Marks River just south of Tallahassee along the gulf.

We arrived at the boat launch and there were two other RVs there one big Class A and the other a really interesting custom build. The Chassis for the custom build is a 1985 German Mercedes Volunteer Firetruck.

Morning at St Marks

All three of us were getting settled when a guy came by to tell us we could not spend the night in the parking lot of the boat launch. He directed us to their overflow field on the other side of the property which is where we spent a quiet night.

Anderson SC to Griffin GA (Day 4 - 1/27/19)

At Mellow Mushroom

So we are considering calling the camper van Miles named after a little doggie that is still in our hearts and a play on the fact that we will be putting miles on the vehicle exploring.

Vicki, Tom, Weasley and Lilly

Before leaving town we joined Tom and Vicki at Mellow Mushroom in Clemson for lunch.

Bell House

After lunch it was on to Griffin Georgia to spend the night in the parking lot of the Bell House owned by our friend Kirby. The original portion of the home was built in late 1800s and was expanded about thirty years ago. Kirby has turned it into a bed and breakfast and event space. It is spectacular, if you are ever in the Griffin area do spend time there, he can be found on Air B&B.

Grabbed a great dinner in the town of Griffin with Kirby and then watched Victoria.

Anderson - Greenville Area (Day 3 - 1/26/19)

At Tom and Vicki's

When we arrived on Friday the van was a mess with salt and it had been a few days since I was at the gym so the early morning chores on Saturday morning were to hit Planet Fitness and wash the van. I do a quick workout at PF, their express workout which keeps my neck and shoulders pain free.

Stout at Liability Brewing

After chores were done Tom, Vicki, Irene and myself headed to Greenville. Our first stop was Thomas Creek Brewery (http://thomascreekbeer.com/) then on to Liability Brewing Co (https://liabilitybrewing.co/). Liability had an IPA that I really liked and right next door is Moe's BBQ which was amazing. (https://www.moesoriginalbbq.com/greenville/). Vicki's son, Brandon, and his girlfriend, Kai Lani, joined us there for a fun afternoon. Good food and friends - it doesn't get better than this!

Spent time wandering around Greenville and then headed back to Tom and Vicki's. Greenville is a happening town. Great river walk that we have enjoyed previously and an amazing amount of development. It is clearly the place to be.

Weasley

A very entertaining thing to do at Tom and Vicki's is to play fetch with Weasley, what a riot.

On to Anderson SC (Day 2 - 1/25/19)

Our view during our lunch stop

We departed Brad and Noelle's at 7am, made a quick stop at Starbucks and hit the road south. We encountered some snow through parts of West Virginia and then the rest of the way was sunshine. Having your stuff with you makes it super easy to have lunch at scenic rest areas like the on on Route 19 near the New River Gorge.

Cracker Barrel truck

At one of the rest areas we saw a Cracker Barrel truck that had an amazing 3D photo on the side. From more than a few feet away it really looked like 4 Hurricane Lamps, pretty crazy.

I 26 heading south towards Asheville.

I was surprised to see the welcome to Tennessee sign and I hadn't remembered going through Bristol either in the past. On other trips to Tom and Vicki's we routed through Charlotte NC. Our GPS had us go through Asheville NC instead I assume due to traffic. The route turned out to be really great, I 26 heading south towards Asheville was beautiful. The tops of the ridges had frost cover and the setting sun really lit them in a wonderful glow.


We arrived a little after 8pm and were greeted with a wonderful soup and a couple of beers that really hit the spot. I am still getting used to driving a larger vehicle and was pretty whooped after a long day on the road.

Rochester to Pittsburg (Day 1 - 1/24/19)

Parked in Brad and Noelle's driveway

We left Rochester today around 4pm and made it to our friend Brad's driveway just north of Pittsburg around 9pm. My plan for dinner, shredded chicken tortillas worked out very nicely. For the next few days, until we get to warmer weather, we need to minimize the water we use since the van is winterized with antifreeze in the water lines. So we brought shredded chicken, dressing and corn tortillas. A short time in the microwave and dinner is served.

The day after tomorrow

We are making our lists and checking them more than twice. Lists of things will we need for utilities, kitchen, food staples, bathroom, bedroom, electronics and tools. We have made a little peace with Walmart since they have a great RV section and allow people to 'camp' in their parking lots over night as you pass through.

Alpin Haus, Amsterdam NY

So what the heck am I talking about? On December 17th 2018 we took delivery of our new Hymer Aktiv which is a Class B RV built on the Dodge Promaster 2500 Chassis.

Since then it has been in our back yard waiting for its maiden voyage. If all goes well we depart on the 24th of January for about a month. Our ultimate destination is Key Largo, FL. We will be surfing driveways of friends along the way near Pittsburg, Anderson SC, Atlanta, Orlando, Tampa and then Key Largo.

Over this past weekend we received about 18 inches of snow and bitter cold temperatures so we are eager to head to warmer weather!

Check back here to monitor our progress.