The past couple of weeks have been super busy, and combined with some WordPress attacks that brought our server to a sluggish state – we just haven’t had time to keep up. So we’re taking you back in time to catch up!
On Thursday May 9, we decided the time had come to cross out of the state of Florida – where we had been since our arrival back in September. It’s a good thing we recently became official Florida residents, because we have definitely exceeded their 6 month leniency.
As we had an upcoming adventure already in the planning that would have us parking the bus near Savannah, we had some extra time – and put our sites on Crooked River State Park near St. Mary’s, Georgia. It would be just over the state line, and give us an opportunity for a couple more down days to chill. While staying at Wekiwa Springs north of Orlando was utterly fantastic, our time there was pretty full of projects.
On the way into Georgia, we made a stop in Green Cove Springs – our new city of domicile with St. Brendan’s Isle. We didn’t have much time to stop in, but we can not recommend these folks highly enough. We have been so super impressed with our new mail forwarding and scanning service – a true gem for us mobile folks.
After our quick stop in Green Cove Springs, we completed our drive over the state line.. saying good bye to Florida after our 8 month stay in the state. While we weren’t stationary in one spot during that time (we stopped in Cocoa Beach, Melbourne, Arcadia, Cedar Key, Orlando and Spring Hill), that is a new state record for us since going nomadic!
We did do Florida one final favor on our way out.. and took out a few hundred love bugs.
Crooked River State Park
We got to Crooked River, knowing they had plenty of availability and a reservation would not be required. And, because we remembered to consult our State Lines app, we knew in advance that GA State Parks charge a $5 vehicle permit fee on top of the nightly camp fee. It’s these little state differences that prompted us to write the app three years ago (and yes, we are still looking for a reliable Android developer to do a port for us – if you know anyone.)
One thing we love about Georgia State Parks, is that many of them are ‘first come first serve’ in terms of site selection. We drove around the park and found a wonderful large pull-thru that had a really private feeling. We put our pre-paid camping card on the pole, and that claimed it as ours – done. That’s so much easier than playing guessing games in advance as to which site might best suite your style of camping.
We enjoyed our two night stop over at Crooked River – it’s a nice little park, with great sunset views within the campground. The campground itself has a wide variety of sites – from those that feel more open, those with water views and some really nicely spaced out private feeling sites. Our AT&T was a solid 2G Edge signal, and our Verizon got a pretty solid 3G signal – that was kinda roughing it for us after getting spoiled with LTE and cable internet, but we survived.
Another reason we tend to favor public parks like State Parks, is the opportunity to explore the hiking trails. We set off one afternoon, enjoying sites of dolphins, eagles, tortoises and deer – and then the trail turned into a fitness trail. They cleverly disguised the signs to look like information about various animals found in the park – like this one above telling you that Brown Trashers can hop from one foot to the other. And then the signs instruct you do the same.
Chris, one who can not pass up reading signs, got totally suckered into a bonus workout. I had fun taking pictures of him imitating deer, turtles, frogs and hawks. I’m thinking an upcoming ‘fitness on the road’ post, perhaps? *grin*
All and all, a good stop. But after spotting a couple ticks – we decided two nights was enough and headed in to our next stop.
Savannah-ish
Three years ago on a stop over in Savannah, we got an e-mail from long time blog readers Elliott and Ann inviting us out to dinner. And ever since, whenever passing anywhere even remotely close to the area – we bypass Savannah itself and visit them instead. We hear great things about Savannah, but these folks are just more awesome.
For our upcoming special adventure, we needed a place to park the bus and leave Kiki for a few days – and they were quick to offer their help. Nomadic ports like these have become a treasured resource in our life.
I’m so glad we had the extra time to stop in early and just chill with good friends for a couple days. There was much laughter, great meals, wine and lots of adventures shared.
One afternoon we set off on a long kayak ride – a perfect excuse to get our inflatable Sea Eagle kayak out! At the end of our 2 hours of paddling, we ended up at a place for a bite to eat and headed back to catch a great sunset.
What a great time, and we so enjoy each visit – whether we’re stopping in to see them, or they’re joining us for a mini-adventure.
I’ll wrap up this update with some unique love we found on the docks at sunset… that’s one talented bird, I tell ya!
We’re now caught up to the start of our side adventure… which I’ll share in our next update later this week. Until then, our hearts go out to everyone affected by the tragedy in Oklahoma.
Thanks, when we finally get out, we plan to make photo and detail log of specific birds. Also, I agree with the open for type check in and find your park. Is there somewhere to write to encourage more parks to try this system?
Getting ready
You all got the love bugs, we are starting the 17 year cicada invasion. Those might dent your bus.
I’m trying to make note of all the best places to stay when I get out in my bus. I will add Crooked River to the list.
Three weeks until the school auctions start so I can buy my bus. Then I can begin the build.
Hey you two. Checkin each other for ticks is the fun part of hiking in the wild. Don’t cut those walks short now, ya heah? :))