After a family-filled heart-warming Christmas in St. Louis, things were starting to look a bit wetter around the New Year. Historic rainfalls were falling on St. Louis and St. Charles. We were nice and warm and cozy in our RV at the 370 Lakeside RV Park (a fabulous little park where the staff even prepared us a homemade cookie tray for Christmas!), but if we didn't head out soon, it looked like the floods could impede our progress south. So wet and soggy as we were, we headed south in seek of warmer and drier climates. 

The warmer came before the drier. We hit a Walmart for a night before we were south of Atlanta and made it to Indian Springs State Park in Georgia. The host couple there was very friendly and welcoming. He was from Quebec, and this was their first time doing the camp host thing. Although we do enjoy the convenience of pulling off the highway to stay at truck stops or Wally-Worlds, nothing beats hook-ups and the dark, quiet backdrop of the woods for a nice, peaceful night's sleep.

From Georgia we hightailed it south to Fore Lake Recreation Area in Ocala National Forest in Florida. From the outside, you might not know what to expect, but this campground was a diamond in the rough! Although it didn't provide any hook-ups, the price was right, $12 per night. And the weather was even right-er! 

Marc enjoyed his relaxation in our hammock surrounded by saw palmetto and oak trees.

This was as good a place as any to celebrate New Year's Eve! We figured ringing in the new year in our RV with no electricity was pretty much right up our alley. All you really need is a bottle of bubbly, right?!

From there we headed to Everglades National Forest for a couple nights at Long Pine Key Campground. This is a beautiful campground with plenty of spaces to accommodate big rigs and tents.

We spent our two days riding our bikes around the campground, drinking wine, playing Sequence, and of course watching out for alligators! Of which we saw none, much to my dismay. :( 

On the road into the Everglades NP there is a well-known fruit stand, or I should say a wonderland of tropical and exotic fruits! The Robert is Here fruit stand has been in operation since 1959 when little Robert Moehling was sent to the corner by his father to sell the cucumbers from the family farm. After an uneventful day and a box still full of cucumbers, Robert's father decided that Robert's lack of success was due to a lack of advertising. He promptly posted a sign stating, "Robert is Here," and lo and behold, Robert sold out of cucumbers within a few hours.

Almost 60 years later, Robert is still there on the same corner selling every tropical fruit imaginable from canistels to mangoes to star apples to sopadillas. My head was sent a-spinning as soon as I walked in! I had to limit myself to just what I could carry, but my-oh-my was it all delicious!

Our next stop on our Florida adventure was Geiger Key Marina and Fish Camp. This old Florida style fish camp sits 10 miles north of Key West on the very tiny Geiger Key. 

Our site, while a bit tight as goes for all RV sites in the Keys, was beautiful. We could sit along the canal out back from our RV and look out onto the ocean over the mangroves. 

There was a restaurant onsite directly on the water with almost nightly life entertainment- the spirit of Jimmy Buffet is alive and well in the Florida Keys!

 Josie the VW bug fit right in down in these parts. No matter where we go, this car- more than any other we have owned- warrants an unprecedented number of smiles, honks, thumbs ups, and excited exclamations of "Nice bug!"

Half the fun of driving Josie is seeing the reactions.

The other half is guessing whether or not she will start. :)

                                                                                The view from behind our RV provided beautiful sunsets!

Although we enjoyed our time in the Keys, one thing we were a bit disappointed with was the lack of beaches. There are a few small beaches on Key West, and I believe there may be more accessible beaches in the northern Keys, but for the most part beaches (as we know them) don't really exist in the Keys. I even read that Key West ships in sand from the Caribbean to supply its own rock-lined beaches. 

 

We did find a fun place to run the dogs and let them take a dip, however. This washed out abandoned road was located next to what is very generously called "Geiger Beach." Running directly alongside the Naval Base, this stretch was great for wearing out the dogs. It also provided us with our own personal airshow as the Navy fighter jets ran their drills. 

Ernest Hemingway's house is located in downtown Key West. We stopped in for a quick tour. It was fascinating!

Part of our excitement in visiting Key West was due to the fact that our Czech students had visited in September and set up a treasure hunt for us! We had a great time following their instructions to find their hand-written note carefully wrapped in a plastic bag waiting to be found.

 

One of the many interesting sights to see while wandering around the streets of Key West.

I don't know if you can tell by the tongue, but Lucy thoroughly enjoyed her time in the Keys. She is an island dog at heart.

Much to our delight, we got a lot of use out of our kayak in Geiger Key. We took it out on several runs, one time following inconspicuously behind a guided kayak tour to wind our way through the mangrove tunnels.

Marc got the chance to cast his rod a couple times as I enjoyed the sun.

 We were blessed with wonderful neighbors at Geiger Key. We enjoyed many nights of conversation and cocktails with Dave and Pat. We hope to see them again in our travels some day!

After a week in the Keys, we headed north to south central Florida and set up shop at the Glades RV Resort in Moore Haven. For some bizarre reason, I didn't get many blog-worthy photos of our stay there. The Glades is a snowbird community of active retirees escaping the frigid temperatures of northern winters. 

This park was filled with bike riders, pickleball players, and laundry room gossipers. This has got to be the friendliest RV park in the country. By the time we left, our arms were weak from all the waving hello!

We spent our time here cooking delicious meals and catching rays at the pool. Family friends Sandie and Bill call this park home in the winter months, and they made us feel right at home. 

After a week at the Glades, we reluctantly trudged north into more winter-appropriate temperatures. 

To be continued... in another sunny location.

Maine or Bust!

Hello off-season! We had a great, successful, busy as all get out summer season. Marc did an outstanding job opening our new restaurant venture, Pizzeria 8852'. We couldn't have asked for smoother opening or a busier first year. Our students were fun and funny and so diverse. We came to love them all and we will miss them until we visit them in their own countries!

So closing down the whole operation, we headed out of dodge before the snow could trap us in. We had already experienced a brilliantly colored fall with the turning of the aspens in Creede, but as we drove east we were glad to see that we had not missed fall in the midwest.

One of the greatest things about our job is that we are able to spend an extended period of time with family during the off-season. Sometimes this is much more important than others, and this was one of those years. We are deeply grateful to our situation as it allowed us to be there for family this fall when it was needed.

As happy as they are to have us there, our families also realize that we look forward to our time on the road. So off we set to do a whirlwind tour of the northeast.

Almost five years living in the D.C. metro area and we had never made it up to New England proper. As I spent my summer days slinging tacos, my mind wandered to rugged, rocky beaches with crashing waves, statuesque lighthouses, foggy mornings, and steaming hot clam chowder. Truth be told, I simply love the ocean. I may be a bit loony- no comments please- but I swear I can feel its power as we travel closer. It pulls me in, speaks to me, and balances me. It always has.

Add this to the fact that I am in a ongoing competition with my Mom and Daniel to see who can visit all 50 states first, and it was a no-brainer. We were going to the northeast. We had six states on the list that we had yet to see- Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, and Rhode Island. Oh, and we planned to visit my Canadian family in Ontario as well.

Our timeline for the trip was a bit shorter than originally planned, but we were pretty sure we could still accomplish it all. Northward bound!

 We were unbelievably lucky with the weather on our trip! And it also seemed as though we were chasing the fall. As we moved throughout the country, we kept catching the beautiful fall leaves. As we headed north through Indiana and Michigan into Ontario we encountered unseasonably warm weather. The sunshine and 70 degree temperatures were in stark contrast to our November 2014 visit to Ontario, and we were not complaining.

We made ourselves right at home next to the big rigs at the truck stops. Why pay $30 a night for campsite when you're on the road?

Upon arriving in London, Ontario, we visited my Uncle Bob and Aunt Sue. Sue was lively and beautiful despite her recent hardships. And Bob was the ultimate host cooking us not one but two meals during our stay! It was so good to have a one-on-one visit with them.

After leaving Bob and Sue's we went to visit my cousin Arlin and her youngest Tyler. Heading away from her house we had to take a slight detour...

to eat some FRENCH FRIES!!!

Every once in a while there is a clear sign pointing to my Canadian roots.
This is a blinking neon arrow. Canada- or at least Ontario- has thoroughly
embraced its love of french fries. They've got seasoned fries, and fries with vinegar,
fries drenched in cheese sauce and sour cream, fries covered in gravy and cheese affectionately
known as Poutine. And the best part of all? They have food trucks dedicated to
providing this scrumptious side dish conveniently alongside the road.  
             

This is Mike. He serves up his delectable spuds on the side of Highway 119 in Ingersoll, ON.

Now, I consider myself a bit of a french fry aficionado. But these were up there with the best french fries I have ever had the pleasure of eating. I mean, come on, just look at the grin!! 

Along the way to Georgetown, ON- our next destination- we did the only logical thing to do after gorging yourself on deep fried potatoes. We found a beautiful roadside park and hiked! Notice the shorts and tank top in the second week of November.

 We have the best traveling dogs in the world.

                               

 Uncle Marty was gracious enough to let us park our rig in his driveway for a few nights. We took full advantage of all of the facilities, including the trampoline!

                                 

We weren't able to meet up with Angi this time. She was heading to Florida for a much needed girls' trip. Chris showed us around his neck of the woods with a beautiful hike along the escarpement. 

After our hike we shared dinner and great conversation with Marty. As last year, we felt very welcomed by all our family in Canada. We can't wait to see them again!

 The next day we headed east to Ithaca, New York where Daniel treated us to a delicious Thai lunch and a tour of his town.


It was great to spend time with Daniel and Lane at their home. We cooked a great meals, enjoyed the local wineries, distilleries, and one cidery. We enjoyed the beautiful New York countryside still colored with the hues of autumn. And we enjoyed a hike together in the Finger Lakes National Forest where we parked our rig for a couple days.

Marc had to stop and snap a picture of this van.

We really enjoyed our flight of ciders at the Cider House as well as our cheese tray minus the extremely pungent goat flavored blue cheese. Pee-ewwww!

Pancake breakfast at the National Forest.

 Look closely. Yes, that is Daniel hanging from the tree to fetch us a fresh apple for snacking. It was delicious!

  Waffle-frolic was a waffle-riffic chose for lunch in Ithaca. We tried the Waffle Florentine as well as a Veggie Corn Dog. Yum!

                                    Dan and I sporting our Drink Local shirts.

 From Ithaca we said goodbye and drove east through Vermont and New Hampshire.
Somehow Marc almost missed this giant chair on the side of the road in Vermont.

 We found a hidden gem of  a campground in the Green Mountain National Forest in Vermont. It was off a well-kept gravel road, a spacious pull off with a fire ring and a fresh stack of firewood. All for the whopping price of $0 per night! Gotta love National Forest campgrounds. 

And then, after enjoying the picturesque countryside of Vermont and New Hampshire, we crossed into our northeasternmost destination- Maine!!

We stopped in the town of York, Maine, which much like Creede, was almost completely shut down for the season. That's all right because it forced to splurge on a quaint little motel room for a couple of nights. 

We enjoyed fresh seafood and pumpkin ales along with New York style pizza and handmade cannolis, not all at the same time.

Yum!

I do realize that a large part of my posts are focused on food. What can I say, there are so many good things to eat out there!

  

The Maine coast was foggy, rugged, cold, and rainy- all the things we had expected! The unwelcoming weather didn't stop us from enjoyed the beach. And Lucy and Max loved that they had a long stretch of sand to themselves to run!

Someone had a creative idea of how to display the trash left behind on the beach.

And I found my second larger than life chair of the trip. 

We even forced ourselves out of bed early enough to catch the stunning east coast sunrise. Well worth the early rise time.

Goodbye Maine, until time, when we will most certainly arrive earlier and spend more time, including the Bay of Fundy and Acadia National Park.

From here we dropped down through multiple states to Maryland to visit Kim and Clark. It is always a great time when we see them and always much good food and wine to be had.

We biked to a local sports bar, cooked together, and laughed together. Kim let me tag along to her favorite new workout class- Soul Cycle. This is not your average spinning class. It's like a dance party and a workout in one!

 

Sadly, our time on the road was coming to an end. We stopped in a few beautiful places on the way home in southern Virginia and Nashville. Marc got to test out his newly built vintage skateboard. Lucy and Max got a thrill at chasing him down the road at the campground. 

And we found the third in the trifecta of the surprise theme of our trip- really, really big chairs!

So that's that- 15 states in 15 days, Canada and the northeast on a whirlwind trip!