You know how you feel around mid-January when your body is telling you that winter should be coming to a close soon and the weatherman is telling you that the worst is yet to come? Well this was about the time that the dreary, bone-chilling weather of the Midwest sent us scrambling for sunnier locations. So we told Mama and Papa Stokes to pack their bags; we were heading to Florida!
Marc had recently driven to Houston to acquire the newest member of our fleet (at some point in my life I laughed at people with more than one vehicle per person, sigh.) But as cute as Josie (our new-to-us classic VW bug) is, she's really more of a toy than a car. The best part about it? We can drag her behind the RV, no problems!
So we all packed it in- Bill, Susie, Marc, Max, Lucy, and I. I'd like to stop for a second here and give big props to Susie. Susie, who has just a touch of claustrophobia, volunteered to take part in a week long camping trip with three other people and two dogs in what is not the largest of RVs.
Marc had a new Co-Captain for this adventure.
Susie and I had plenty to entertain us. Between making lunches for the cockpit and learning how to knit (me), we had our hands full, literally.
After two nights on the road, we made it to our final destination, the Ho Hum RV Park in Carabelle, Florida. We had decided on the Forgotten Coast, as they call it, instead of heading further south down the peninsula. It turns out snow birds book early. There were basically no camp sites available south of Clearwater. We knew it would be chillier this far north, but as I kept insisting, "60 degrees is better than 20!"
It was located directly on the beach of the Gulf.
There was also a stretch of uninhabited beach that was perfect for letting the dogs run wild. Max's favorite pastime was sprinting into the shallow water after a pelican and chasing it until he could no longer stand. 
If you have never experienced a Florida RV park in the winter, it is something to behold. In our opinion, the owners were sitting on a goldmine! It was the end of January, not exactly what I would call beach weather, and the park was full! The size and splendor of the RVs taking up residence here were impressive. There were 40+ foot rigs with sun decks and more slide-outs than I could count, RVs with power to put any 18 wheeler to shame, and even one equipped with a cat door leading to an enclosed outdoor catwalk. So I'm sure you can picture us, the youngest guests driving the oldest RV pulling the oldest car.
It was, however, just the right audience for a 1973 VW bug. They couldn't get enough of it!
At this point, we had only driven the bug a few times in Missouri, but what better place than Florida to knock the dust off? So all four of us piled- or perhaps more accurately, crammed- into the little blue car and zipped downtown to see what there was to see.
After a photo shoot and a little exploring, we were ready to head back to the campsite. Josie, however, had other ideas. We were all nicely tucked into our respective seats as Marc turned the key to start the car- no dice. Good thing there was a restaurant nearby, 2 Al's at the Beach.
So we enjoyed some cold drinks and snacks while we waited.
We figured maybe the old girl just needed some time to rest, but when we returned from our appetizers to try again, she still wouldn't start.
At this point we were starting to attract a group of onlookers. "Do the push and pop!" one hollered. And so commenced one of the funniest moments of the trip. Bill with an iced tea in one hand, pushing the bug with the other, Marc pushing from the side, and Susie in the driver's seat ready to pop the clutch once they got enough running room- it was quite a scene. I, of course, felt it necessary to film the fiasco.
Lo and behold, it worked! Of course it did, you might say if you ever owned a bug back in the day. And it came in handy a couple other times on the trip as well.
You would think that this incident would deter us from venturing out in the car again, but what fun would that be?! We made it out to dinner for a seafood feast at Seineyard at Summer Camp.
And Marc and I made a few runs to the local seafood market, Millender's and Sons. We had the most scrumptious shrimp, scallops, and dips. The Smoked Mullet Dip was a winner for sure. The seafood here was so fresh and the employees were so helpful, that we had to go back for more!
We definitely recommend stopping by here if you are in the area.
We had planned this trip around celebrating Bill's birthday. I baked a sugar free chocolate cake ahead of time and froze it. Nothing better than a double layer chocolate cake to celebrate 72 years!
We met a lot of great people at Ho Hum RV Park, but yet I again failed to capture any of their pictures! We met a very nice couple a few spots down. They were traveling in their rig and their mother was following behind in her custom van camper. I had to get the details since this is probably in the future for us with Mama T. The mother was 89 years old and an avid kayaker. One day she and her son paddled out to Bird Island, just barely visible from the shore where we were staying.
Upon seeing her navigate her single kayak to the island and back, I told Marc we had to do the same. Marc had purchased a tandem inflatable kayak over the summer with the understanding that we had to use it on at least three trips to justify the expense. Seeing as we were in mostly cold weather for the majority of the winter, we had only used it once to date. Now was his chance!
We geared up with our life jackets and whistle- yes a whistle is a necessity in this part of Florida- and we headed off.
I have kayaked and canoed in plenty rivers and lakes, and I have been on a variety of boats in the ocean before, but kayaking in the ocean is a different experience. The water was very dark where we were, almost like coffee. It made it difficult to see too far down, and therefore a bit menacing. I knew the chances of a shark in this area, in the inter-coastal waters were very small, but whose mind wouldn't go there?
We paddled out less than half way to the island before realizing it was going to be much harder on the way back due to the wind. So we postponed our big sea adventure...
We took a day to go into downtown Carrabelle which was a little slow due to the season. We did find a nifty little antique shop and a ice cream shop with the most delicious Espresso Milkshake ever! Yum, yum, yum.
Carrabelle is also home to the World's Smallest Police Station. No, I'm not kidding.
We made it back out onto the water on our last full day in Florida, and this time we completed our journey! Bird island is a small strip of land with many, you guessed it, birds! There were also lots of jellyfish scattered along the sand. It was a good place to pick up a few last unique shells.
It was a wonderfully relaxing vacation full of sunrises, yoga on the beach, walks by the water, delicious seafood, and great company. Mama and Papa Stokes were quite the troopers to put up with our style of traveling.
Next stop- after some down time in Missouri- Vegas!
