Author: thetinyhousetravelers

With Fat Tuesday and the end of Mardi Gras season, we found ourselves with more time to explore the Mobile area…and we found ourselves at the beginning of Lent. John and I are not religious people but John absolutely loves Lent because of all the fish fry options on Fridays. He worked his internet magic (asked Reddit) and found a dinner option for us for Friday night – St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church. We arrived right as it was beginning and were surprised to find a line through the building and out the door! We hoped that was a good sign of the delicious food to come. We made a few friends while standing in line (John loves a good line because it means a captive audience) and things moved really quickly. In addition to the traditional fried fish, this church also offered a soup, fried shrimp, fried oysters, a different specialty entree option and different desserts every week. John had the fish but I opted for the fish & shrimp combo, which also came with grits, fries, coleslaw, and hush puppies. We also added on a Thai coconut shrimp soup and peach cobbler.

The food was absolutely amazing and the friends we made were even better. Between chatting in line and sitting with random folks to eat, we connected with a few different folks and ended up having such a great time that we came back the following two Friday nights as well. I have said it before but the thing that we really miss as we travel is COMMUNITY. The people at the church were all so incredibly friendly and welcoming – we even had the priest come sit and talk with us and we compared travel stories.

On Saturday, we decided to visit the Mobile Carnival Museum because we just hadn’t had enough of Mardi Gras, apparently. They had a float that you could climb onto and pretend to be in a parade and a hall with various krewe costumes from the past.

Most people are familiar with the different krewes and floats and have even attended a parade or seen on one television. What a lot of people don’t realize is that the Mardi Gras season is also a HUGE social season complete with parties, balls, and royalty. The majority of the museum was devoted to the elaborate costumes and fancy trains worn by the King and Queen each year. They also had musical instruments, decorations, and jewelry worn by the “royalty” over the years. We walked through room after room of breathtaking gowns covered in fur, sequins, and gemstones going back decades. We were so glad that we made the time to visit.

Following our time at the museum, we walked a few blocks over to visit The Haunted Book Shop. We did a little shopping and ended up with a cookbook with recipes from various fantasy books, a physical copy of my favorite Agatha Christie novel, and a set of Mystery book trivia cards. We also met Mr. Bingley, the book store cat.

After the book shop, we visited Lupercalia Art Society, a gallery/speakeasy on Dauphin Street. We had first stumbled upon this treasure during our visit the previous year when we were walking around killing time waiting for a table at a nearby restaurant. They had such an amazing collection of art and the staff had been so friendly- we had been looking forward to visiting again this year. We walked around and looked at EVERYTHING but I kept coming back to one painting specifically. We had really liked a piece by the same artist the year before but just couldn’t justify buying a piece of that size for our tiny home. It was a huge mistake and I thought about it all year. I decided that if we returned and the painting was still there, then it was meant to be and I would buy it. Unfortunately, the painting in question had sold a few months before our visit. Fortunately, the artist had done a new piece in the same style that I absolutely fell in love with at first sight. THIS was meant to be. We also picked up a gorgeous set of canvases with angel wings painted on them. I didn’t know where we were going to put them, but John promised we would figure something out so we bought all three pieces. And honestly, once they were hung in the house, it felt like they belonged there.

Following the art gallery, we grabbed some lunch at a small food hall just down the street. We split a pizza and some loaded chicken nachos. We also made a stop at Mo’Bay Beignets. It was all really tasty. We finished up the day with a visit to Cammie’s Old Dutch Ice Cream (thanks to a recommendation from one of our new friends from the Fish Fry). I had the American Holiday Banana Split (vanilla and strawberry ice cream covered with blueberry pie filling, whipped cream, and diced cherries) and John had the Strawberry Milkshake. It was SO GOOD. We ate until we thought we were going to explode and then we just kept on eating until everything was gone. The staff were incredibly friendly and the prices were unbelievably cheap.

We spent Sunday hanging out around the campground. We explored the old town and some of the battle field with Harley, who had just had her stitches out on Valentine’s Day and was cleared to start wearing her harness again. We didn’t do a lot of walking with her using just her collar because the little devil has figured out how to slip out of it and we didn’t want to risk anything crazy happening if she got away from us. With her harness back in place, she was more than ready to get back to adventuring with us and we walked her through several trails in the park, including a boardwalk right along the river.

We got a bonus day of fun in thanks to President’s Day. John was off work so we decided to head back across the causeway to visit the USS Alabama battleship that is now permanently anchored in Mobile and is open to the public as a museum along with a small collection of planes and other vehicles and a submarine.

The central building had planes, motorcycles, cars and an ambulance. One of the planes was even on loan from the personal collection of Jimmy Buffett.

The submarine, the USS Drum, was our next stop. It was completely on land and had stairs leading up to the top. We were able to walk around on deck then climb down the steep, narrow ladders into the belly of the beast. It was tight quarters for sure and I couldn’t imagine the men who had lived on this thing when it was in service. We were able to see pretty much every part of the sub and got to be very “hands-on” with everything.

We saved the giant USS Alabama for last. While it is very shallow, the ship does sit in the waters of Mobile Bay. A large ramp leads up to the deck where all of the tours begin. We spent the longest time admiring the giant guns and even got to look through some of the sights. At one point we looked up to the mast and there was a giant bald eagle sitting there. Talk about the most American thing ever! Unfortunately I did not take my camera (naval vessels are ENORMOUS – why would I possibly need something with a zoom lens?) so there aren’t any clear photos but man, talk about setting the mood.

We started by entering the main level of the ship and going down. The ship was divided into different color coded sections with clearly numbered exhibits and directions to make touring this massive space easy and effective. We, of course, did NOT follow the directions but ended up wandering aimlessly back and forth throughout the ship, going up and down different ladders and stairways at random. I think we still managed to see most of the key points of interest despite our random path. Some of my favorite parts were the brig, the mess hall, the medical bay, the post office, and the dentist.

When we returned to the main deck, we decided to head up into the upper levels to the bridge. We climbed up and up and up until we finally reached the limit of where guests were permitted. There were still a few levels above that but I was glad that we had to stop- we had done so many ladders and stairs that I my legs were shaking!

Between the museum, the submarine and the battleship we walked over 3 miles worth of steps. We stumbled back to the car, grabbed some Chinese food on the way home, then passed out as soon as we managed to drag ourselves into the house. The following week was spent recovering our strength.

We wrapped up our final few weeks in the Mobile area attending the weekly Fish Fry, indulging in Cammie’s Ice Cream a few more times, and preparing for a few year of adventures. We did FINALLY see our first alligators just randomly going about life. One was in a small pond on the side of the highway (we happened to be in the right time thanks to one of the tunnels into Mobile being closed when we were going out for breakfast one day) and the other was along a boardwalk area right under the main road we had been using in Daphne for regular trips to the grocery store and to pick up fast food. Of course, I didn’t have my good camera with me (I never have it when I actually need it!) but I managed the best I could with my cellphone.

The one month in Foley and the one month in Mobile had been a good opportunity to rest and reset but the next several few months would see us going back to moving every 2 weeks – it was time to get back into adventure mode!

Our month in Foley practically flew by and before we knew it, it was time to move on to Mobile, Alabama. With Harley’s injury and surgery, Pandora’s vet visit, and some household repairs all happening at once – it had been a stressful few weeks and I was so glad that it was only a 45 minute drive from our campground in Foley to our new spot in Spanish Fort (a suburb of Mobile). We pulled in at Historic Blakely State Park after a very short and uneventful drive, unhooked the house from the truck, and setup camp – and still actually had a little bit of energy to go out for dinner and then take a drive around the park (which was ENORMOUS and contained the site of a former town AND a Civil War Battlefield). We also had a friendly lizard to greet us when we went to hook up.

We also wasted absolutely no time in stumbling into our first accidental adventure. On Monday night, John asked if I wanted to ride into Mobile with him to pick up a King Cake he had ordered. I had been lounging all day but I threw on some jeans and we walked out the door. We drove to Pollman’s Bakery and got our cake and on the way home, we came across a Mardi Gras Parade! It was pretty chilly (around 50 degrees) and we were in no way prepared but we grabbed our lawn chairs out of the car and dug a few sweatshirts out of the trunk and settled in to watch our first parade of the 2024 Mardi Gras season. We saw the Order of Venus and the Order of Many Faces and ended up catching a ton of stuff. We got beads, of course, but also snack cakes and boiled peanuts, packets of ramen noodles and all kinds of little trinkets and toys. It was a very different experience that the parades we had attended in New Orleans the previous year but we enjoyed the more laid-back atmosphere.

Mobile is also super efficient at cleaning up – there were workers who came through with leaf blowers immediately following the last float that blew any trash and dropped beads and such into the middle of the road. Next came two lines of street sweepers that just sucked everything up. Finally, another group of workers came through to remove all of the metal traffic barricades from the intersections. Traffic immediately started moving. We had found street parking on a side road near the roundabout at Canal and Broad and sat about 20 feet from our car during the parade. We packed up our lawn chairs and hopped in the car while the barricades were being moved and were able to pull right out onto the street and head for home. We pulled in at our campsite about 40 minutes after the last float rolled past – and that included about a 20 minute drive back to Spanish Fort.

One of my favorite things, though was the Crichton Leprechaun plush! This was a supposed Leprechaun that was spotted in the Crichton Neighborhood of Mobile back in 2006 and the news story went viral causing massive amounts of people to flock to the neighborhood in hopes of spotting the leprechaun and getting a wish granted. The kind couple next to us (that I randomly started chatting with and invited to watch the parade with us) caught it but gave him to us as a special keepsake.

Having our first parade under our belts and scoping out the main parade route, we decided to go back the next night- but this time we dressed appropriately in long pants and sweatshirts and remembered to take jackets and blankets and a bag for all of the stuff we caught. This parade was the Order of La She’s and Order of Olympia parade. We ended up with more ramen and snack cakes, some plushie flowers, and a roll of toilet paper. We once again made friends with some fun people sitting around us – two older couples that we chatted with while waiting for the parade to reach us. One of the ladies got pretty wound up during the parade and was climbing on the barricades yelling and almost fell several times. She told me that she was about to celebrate her 62nd birthday later that week and had been coming to Mardi Gras every year since she was a little girl. I strongly believe that there was a little something special in her Stanley cup and that she had maybe started the birthday partying a few days early.

There were no parades on Wednesday night so we stayed home and were so exhausted that we skipped the Thursday night parades, too . When Friday rolled around, though, we were ready! We liked the spot we had been sitting in but decided to move to a new location on the route on Springhill- a few blocks over from where we had been before. This location was closer to downtown and just a few blocks from Moe’s Original BBQ. We grabbed some dinner then walked back a few blocks away from the bars to set up our chairs. This parade was Crewe of Columbus and Krewe de Secondline. There were a lot of kids around us so we gave a lot of the toys that we caught to them and only kept a few beads, doubloons, and snacks for ourselves. I also spent some time talking to a local man who gave me some food recommendations around town and assisted with my pronunciation of “Mobile” (Mow-BEEEEL not MO-beel) because he didn’t want me to be easily identified as a tourist and taken advantage of.

On Saturday, we picked yet another spot for our parade viewing in the middle of downtown on the north side of Bienville Square. Since it was the weekend, these parades started early in the day and there were several scheduled back to back. Our spot had a little bit of shade and was near a row of port-a-potties so that made life much more enjoyable. We got to see the Floral Parade, Knights of Mobile, Mobile Mystical Ladies, Order of Angels, and the Joy of Life Parades. Being downtown surrounded by a ton of one-way streets, it did take us a little bit longer to get out of the traffic mess and back home but we were still home in plenty of time to put Harley out.

On Sunday, we opted not to attend any of the parades as it was Joe Cain Day. It’s a long story but basically, Joe Cain is the man who brought Mardi Gras to Mobile in 1868. Every year, the Sunday before Fat Tuesday is known as Joe Cain Day in his honor (since 1967) and seems to be the wildest day of celebrations. It was also Super Bowl Sunday so we really didn’t want to get mixed up in a bunch of craziness in town. John did decide, though (AT THE LAST MINUTE) to hook up our projector and invite every single camper in the campground to a party at our house to watch the game. We didn’t really have any party food but I threw together some chips and some Mardi Gras snacks, some summer sausage and fancy mustard, some Thai chili cream cheese spread and some crackers and a King Cake and we sat down to wait for company.

We ended up having a pretty good turnout and people streamed in and out all evening. I don’t think we actually watched more than about 5 minutes of the game because we were busy talking and giving tours of the house. It was so much fun though. We explained to people that, with us being full time on the road, we get a little feral sometimes and just need to spend time with human beings that are NOT each other. Many of them, also being full timers, understood completely and I think it was a nice little break for all of us.

We did end up making friends and really connecting with two wonderful people – Amanda and Josh- who travel in their converted Schoolie. (You can find them on Social Media as Eleanor Rigby the Bus if you care to give them a follow as well) We talked them into joining us for the Fat Tuesday parades- the last day of Mardi Gras.

We returned to the same spot on St. Francis where we had been on Saturday and got to watch the Order of Athena, Knights of Revelry, King Felix III, and Comic Cowboys parades. We had a truly wonderful time hanging out with other human beings who are eerily similar to us and I think they enjoyed the experience as well (even though Josh was hit in the face by a flying pickle).

And with that, Mardi Gras was over (or was it? Be sure to check out my next post for the Mobile Carnival Museum). We now found ourselves at the start of Lent and, being in a city with plenty of Catholics, we were looking forward to visiting some fish fries in the very near future.

And PS! For those wondering, the King Cake (and everything else) we had from Pollman’s during our month in Mobile was AMAZING. If you are in the area be sure to stop in. They are the sweetest people and every single thing we tried from there was delicious.

Although it was our first time staying in Foley, we had been in the Mobile area in March of last year and a that time, we visited Dauphin Island which sits at the entrance to Mobile Bay on the western side. Dauphin Island is home to some beautiful beaches, an aquarium, a bird sanctuary and Fort Gaines, which together with Fort Morgan on the eastern side of the bay, controlled access to the waters leading into Mobile and played an important roll during the Civil War. We had visited Fort Gaines on our last visit so we decided to drive down to Fort Morgan on this trip.

We began with a visit to the onsite museum and gift shop where we were able to artifacts from the Fort Morgan Lighthouse in addition to weapons, dishes, and uniforms from the fort itself. Construction on the fort was completed in 1834, which is when it received its first garrison. The fort remained active all the way through WWII. It was abandoned in 1947 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1960. Restorations have been ongoing (a live naval shell was actually discovered during repairs in 2008) and guests can walk through much of the fort today.

We visited on a cooler day and pretty much had the place to ourselves. We met a handful of other folks but were mostly alone in most of the cavernous space. The buildings were eerily beautiful and we had a lot of fun wandering about and losing ourselves (and often each other) while learning about the past.

We had climbed to the top of the walls (the stairs were INSANE) overlooking the bay and were speaking to another couple when I became distracted by something in the water. I was trying to be polite and make conversation but when I realized what I was seeing I immediately started wandering off – drawn to the little beach down below. The beach was completely empty save for us and the couple we had been speaking to and it provided an amazing view of DOLPHINS! Yes, dozens of dolphins were swimming in from the gulf and up the bay. We could see their backs and fins breaking the water and, occasionally, one would leap up out of the water.

They moved SO QUICKLY that it was difficult to get a great picture but we sat on the beach watching them for about 45 minutes until Fort Morgan was closing for the day.

We returned to our car and drove out of the fort area and into the parking lot for the ferry from Fort Morgan to Dauphin Island where we parked and enjoyed some more dolphin watching from the pier for about another hour until our fingers were numb from the cold and it was starting to get too dark to see.

We finished our adventure in Fort Morgan with dinner at Tacky Jack’s where I indulged in some Royal Reds and John tackled a trashcan lid full of nachos. He put up a valiant effort but only managed to eat about a third.

We hadn’t planned on doing anything too exciting for the rest of the week but the universe had other plans. Our oldest cat, Pandora, has thyroid problems and is on regular medication that requires her to have bloodwork done every 6 months. We won’t be back to our regular vet until May but she was due for a checkup so we thought that the month we were spending in Foley would be a great time to get that taken care of. I had scheduled the appointment over a month in advance and this was the only thing on our calendar for the week. Now, Dora is a persnickety old devil and if she is going to the vet it is necessary to drug her with a magical concoction called Gabapentin to make sure that she is comfortable and not stressed out and that she doesn’t brutally murder any of the vet staff or myself or John. Giving her the medication is quite an ordeal as I have to give it the evening before the appointment and again about 90 minutes prior to our arrival at the office. She takes pills quite well but this medication is liquid and it is always a fight to squirt it down her throat while she fights me like a wild alligator.

In the middle of getting myself ready and drugging Pandora, we noticed that Harley had a very swollen foot. Harley had been to see a different vet than Pandora was seeing for her surgical consult so we called them to see if we could get her in. They were booked up for the day but were concerned so they said to drop Harley off with them and they would squeeze her in.

I gave Dora her drugs, loaded Harley up, dropped her at the vet, drove back to the house to finish getting myself ready, then loaded Dora up in the car and drove to her appointment. The vet was wonderful and Dora was fairly well behaved and they managed to get her bloodwork done, give her a regular exam, and trim her nails for me. The bloodwork came back great so they filled 6 months worth of her medication for us which will get us through until we can see our regular vet again. That ordeal was over fairly painlessly and we went back home to wait for word on Harley.

Harley’s vet called around 4pm and said that they had lanced and drained her wound and couldn’t be sure exactly what was wrong but it was possibly a snake bite or a puncture wound. She was doing well but they wanted to keep her overnight and asked us to bring some food over for her. John was logging off work right as I was speaking to the vet so we got some food together and drove over to drop that off and check in with the vet.

After leaving Harley’s vet, we decided to go grab some pizza for dinner because it had been an exhausting day and we just didn’t have the energy to cook. Were cruising down the main strip when we saw flashing lights in the rearview – we were being pulled over. We knew we hadn’t been speeding so we were pretty confused as to what was going on. The officer was very nice and let us know that we had a headlight out. He wasn’t going to issue a ticket but did ask for John’s license and proof of insurance. The driver’s license was no big deal – he carries it in his wallet and pulled it out quite easily. It turns out, however, that we had not downloaded our proof of insurance for the 2024 year. We tried to pull it up on our phones but the website said incorrect password and we could NOT get logged in. We tried calling the company but they were already closed for the day and do not offer 24 hour customer service. Finally, FINALLY, we got logged into the website and were able to show proof of insurance. Again, the officer was so sweet – we felt terrible for taking so long and promised to get the headlight fixed as soon as we got home. We went on to get our pizza and then went home to decompress.

The vet called the next morning and said that Harley did just fine overnight and we setup pickup time for the afternoon for me to go get her. Her foot was still a little red and puffy but looked so much better than it had the day before. She was given antibiotics and pain meds and we were told that as long as nothing major came up, she was still good to have surgery the following week for the lump on her chest. I took her to pick up a cone to wear for a few days (she looked like the dilophosaurus from Jurassic Park!) and we may or may not have gone through the McDonald’s drive-thru for some chicken nuggets to reward us both for being good girls.

We spent the rest of the week and weekend just hanging out at home with Harley for the most part. We did take a few hours to run out on Saturday to the Foley Farmer’s Market and grab some lunch but we just didn’t want to leave our girl alone for long while she was injured. We picked up some ENORMOUS vegetables and various baked goods and settled in on the couch when we got back home.

The following week (January 31), Harley had her chest surgery and came through that just fine. It did turn out to be just a fatty tumor. We made arrangements to return in 2 weeks for suture removal and were to continue to antibiotics and pain meds until then and be careful of the incision. We planned for a few weeks of taking it easy for all of us.

Harley was pretty groggy for a few days but was more than ready for the car ride the following Sunday when we made our big move 45 minutes up the road to our new campground in Spanish Fort, Alabama which is just outside of Mobile, where we would spend the next month.

Our peaceful month of quiet relaxation in Foley had actually been quite stressful but, thanks to a sweet care package that John made for me (a new notebook to plan our travel adventures, some snacks, new pens) and a package from my Aunt Penny (two beautifully embroidered totes that she made for me and an adorable pair of earrings), I was able to get through it with a smile and was ready to see what our next stop would bring.

Our first full weekend in Foley also happened to be a three day weekend for John thanks to Martin Luther King, Jr Day and we intended to make the most of it. Heads up- this post will be a LOT of pictures because I could TRY to explain some of the things that we saw but its much easier to just show you.

Much of Foley consisted of a main highway through town with all of the chain stores and restaurants but there was a small downtown area that had some small businesses, the post office, a green space, and a few museums. We had received several recommendations for the Medical Museum specifically so that was pretty high on our list.

The Holmes Medical Museum in Foley, Alabama used to be a doctor’s office/surgery/hospital from 1936 until 1958. This hospital saw the birth of the first documented triplets in the county- they recently visited the hospital to celebrate their 75th birthdays! The hospital handled dental procedures and eye exams too! We saw an incredible collection of antique medical equipment (and even saw a few things that we own as well!) and had a great time. Admission is free but donations are encouraged.

Less than a block from the Holmes Museum, we found the Train Museum in Foley. We got there pretty close to closing time but still managed to check out their incredible model train setup. They had several trains running on different tracks through an amazingly well setup and detailed town. We saw a drive-in theater that was actually playing a movie on a little screen and a circus tent with tiny little performers and an audience inside. My favorite was the miniature fireworks factory that had caught fire! You could see little explosions being projected inside through one of the windows. It’s a good thing there was also a tiny fire station complete with firemen sliding down the pole and a fire engine that came out the front door and then circled around to the back. They even had a tiny Piggly Wiggly grocery store!

We also got to explore an actual train outside. We were able to climb up on the locomotive and actually walk through the caboose.

The museums closed pretty early so we still had a good bit of the day left. After a quick stop at the house to walk Harley, we decided we wanted to keep exploring so we drove over to Alabama Point East to enjoy the beach. There was a beautiful boardwalk leading from the parking lot to the sand. It was only about 50 degrees but we walked along the shore enjoying the view and the wildlife and had a really relaxing time – except for when I swore I saw a dolphin but John missed it so he said that I was imagining things! We saw a lot of birds including one who is well known in the area for harassing fisherman until they share their catch with him and we even found some urchins in some of the tidepools.

Because we had left Harley alone all day on Saturday, we wanted to so something fun with her on Sunday. We all got in the car and drove down to Alabama’s Gulf Coast State Park. There are several places to park and hop onto a trail so our first excursion was just along the road off one of the parking areas. John walked Harley around the water while I stood and watched a beautiful heron stalk and finally catch it’s dinner. I could also see several crabs just beneath the surface of the water.

We jumped back in the car and drove to main of the one recreation areas – a beautiful park with trails and a boardwalk along Lake Shelby. We were a little tired from all the walking the day before and Harley was a little distracted by all of the other dogs so we only walked about half a mile before turning around and calling it quits for the day. It wasn’t a long hike but we enjoyed the scenery and it was enough to wear Harley out!

On Monday, we had perhaps one of our weirdest adventures yet. John and I had been told about a place called Barber Marina that had a lot of neat boats and a very large sculpture of a lady bathing in the water. One of our neighbors had also recommended the Roadkill Cafe for lunch which was just on the way to the marina so it seemed like the makings for a fun day out.

We ate at the restaurant and it was pretty good. Not the best food we had ever had but the service was excellent and the prices were great.

After lunch, we began the journey to Barber Marina. There was pretty much one road heading that way and we had been told to allow time to check out some cool attractions along the way. We really didn’t know what to expect but we were excited to check things out.

We started by driving straight to the Marina since I realized I had to use the bathroom shortly after leaving the diner. We arrived to find a giant sculpture of a spider (which John had to pose with) and watched as a large boat was wheeled across the parking lot and dropped into the water with a large lift.

I used the restroom at the main building and we killed some time walking along the docks checking out all of the incredible boats. We found the Lady in the Water pretty easily – it was super weird.

We also made friends with some cats that lived at the marina. They had food bowls and lots of places to sleep inside the bait shop and were let in and out about a million times while we were there by the very obliging staff. They told us that the one cat that had attached himself to us and followed us around was named Hobo and that, contrary to his claims otherwise, he was very well cared for and not in any actual distress – he was just dramatic. He led us on a guided tour of several statues in the immediate area.

After breaking off from Hobo and hopping back in the car, we decided to check out some of the other points of interest along the road. Right out of the parking lot at the marina, there were small pathways leading into a small strip of trees. This was pretty overgrown in places but we were able to locate several statues of soldiers among the weeds.

Once we left the Warriors in the Woods, we drove around a giant fountain of Neptune and on back the way we had come in.

We were able to use Google Maps on our phone and some patches of dirt where the grass had been worn away to find four different giant dinosaurs hiding in the forest along the road. Two of these were actually visible from the road and we were able to drive right up to them but the other two took a little hunting and walking through the woods.

After leaving the dinosaurs, we used Google Maps (and a labeled parking area) to find the main attraction – Bamahenge. This is a miniature version of Stonehenge made from plaster and resin and was actually pretty cool to see. After parking, we walked through a short tunnel of trees and then the trail came into a clearing with all of these towering structures. We were able to get some fun pictures and John flew his drone for some even cooler videos and aerial shots.

Our last stop was a circle of Roman columns surround a statue of a woman. Like some of the other sites, this was a bit of a walk from the main road but unlike the others, it was in a giant open field instead of in the woods. Again, we took lots of pictures and some cool video before calling it quits for the weekend and going home to rest.

The only other event this week worth mentioning was the anniversary of when John and I started dating. Even though we are married, we were together for almost a decade before tying the knot so we still celebrate our dating anniversary in addition to the date we got married. We had been given several restaurant suggestions by friends and we chose one of the nicer places on the list – Cobalt. At this time of year, we couldn’t really experience the amazing views but this restaurant is right on the water and offers spectacular views of the beach. Because the sun set at 5pm in January, it was well past dark at dinner time but I can only imagine how romantic it would be to share a meal with someone special on the patio at sunset. We enjoyed a half dozen oysters, Shrimp and Grits, and Pasta with Crawfish and Andouille.

On January 6th, it was time to hit the road and leave Florida behind! After a crazy 10 months of running up and down the eastern half of the country and moving every 1-2 weeks, we were really looking forward to spending a full month in one spot in Foley, Alabama. Foley is located about an hour south of Mobile on the eastern edge of Mobile Bay. It is just a few minutes away from the popular vacation destinations of Gulf Shores and Orange Beach so we knew there would be tons of fun activities to get into. We also like to use our longer stays to get doctor and vet appointments taken care of and handle any larger maintenance items on the house. Our campground was 3 minutes from a vet, 9 minutes from a McDonald’s, and 14 minutes from a Walmart. CIVILIZATION!

The drive went really smoothly (we might actually be getting the hang of this!) and we arrived at Alabama Coast Campground with no issues. We pulled into our large, flat, pull-through spot and got the truck unhooked and the house setup rather quickly.

As per tradition, we headed out for a drive around town and to grab some dinner. We were just a few streets over from the main strip through town so we had SO MANY restaurant choices but we already had a destination in mind. We had heard about Lambert’s Cafe from several people, although most had been guests at the Missouri location, and were excited to try them.

The food was just good, old fashioned, down-home cooking. They also serve their soft drinks in ENORMOUS plastic mugs that bring back fond memories of one of my Great Aunts. I had a feeling it was going to be a good experience.

John had the fried chicken and I had liver and onions and we both got mashed potatoes and cornbread. The servings were HUGE – which was made extra crazy by the fact that they offer what they call “pass arounds”. While you eat, servers walk through the dining room with bowls and trays of extra items that are completely free with your meal – fried okra, fried potatoes (even better than my Grandma’s – don’t tell her I said so!), macaroni & tomatoes, and black-eyed peas. The food was pretty good overall. The chicken was heavenly and the mashed potatoes were really good once we added some salt and pepper. I already said it but the fried potatoes were the best I have ever had. I wish I had known how good they were before I ordered – I would have chosen a lighter side dish than mashed potatoes. I didn’t love my liver and onions but I think it’s just because I didn’t really like the gravy that they smothered it in – not that it wasn’t good but it just wasn’t something I enjoyed.

The thing that brought us in, however, was that Lambert’s is known for their “Throwed Rolls”. You may be asking “what is a throwed roll?” and don’t you worry – I am happy to break it down for you. First off, I am a girl that LOVES a complimentary bread with dinner. Bread is one of my favorite things on this earth. So when I say that these rolls were worth the trip BY THEMSELVES please know that I am not saying that lightly. For starters, they are GIGANTIC. They definitely require two hands to catch. Yes. I said TO CATCH. Because, like the other Pass Arounds, these rolls are served by folks walking through the dining room pushing a little cart. Except instead of placing them onto your table they hurl them at you from across the room. Yup. When you want a roll you just catch the eye of the server and they will send a fresh, hot, soft ball of deliciousness hurtling through space over the heads of other diners and (hopefully) right into your waiting hands. They also have folks walking around with apple butter and molasses for your rolls but honestly just eat them with a little butter. They don’t need anything fancy.

The next morning, we undertook a holy pilgrimage known to many travelers – a trip to Buc-ee’s! For those that haven’t experienced this almost holy site – what’s the hold up? Buc-ee’s is a chain of gas stations/truck stops that are just so much more. They have gas, of course, and provide clean restrooms for truckers and vacationing families alike. You can purchase your standard convenience store snacks (bottles of soda, bags of chips, Hostess and Little Debbie snacks) but they also have wines, a small grocery section, home decor, apparel, sporting/camping goods, and toys. For hot food options they have a sweets stations with really really good fresh made fudge and nuts, a bakery with pastries, a hot foods section with pulled pork and tacos, and a fast food counter with burgers, fries, hotdogs, and more. There is an entire wall of fountain drinks (the Buc-ee’s brand cherry cola is amazing) and a section of jerky. They are always PACKED but thankfully have a large staff and pretty efficient flow so, although there are long lines, you can get in and out fairly quickly. We got some snacks and a Buc-ee’s onesie so I can look just like their beaver mascot. It even has a tail!!!!

The rest of the week was pretty uneventful. Harley had a vet appointment for a consultation for surgery to remove a fatty tumor. We really liked the vet so we scheduled her procedure for later in the month.

Although our campground wasn’t really anything fancy, it did have a walking path around the perimeter that was shaded and quiet and we took lots of walks with Harley and enjoyed chatting with a few neighbors. With an entire month ahead of us, there was absolutely no need to rush.

As we pulled into our campsite at Three Rivers State Park in Sneads, Florida on Saturday December 23rd, I couldn’t help but admire the beauty of this spot. We were parked at the top of a small rise looking out over Lake Seminole. There was a fishing pier straight down from our site and there were people fishing and tons of birds on the water. I was so happy that John had booked this for us – I always want waterfront sites but they are usually already booked or more expensive so John typically doesn’t schedule them. This definitely felt like a Christmas gift in itself and I could not think of a better place to end our first full year on the road and start the new year off right.

We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day just relaxing around the campground and enjoying the incredible scenery. The camp hosts at this park, Tom and Julie, were the absolute best and we enjoyed speaking with them and other campers.

On Christmas Day, we started off with a nice breakfast of sausage and cinnamon rolls then we exchanged gifts. Living in a tiny house means that we have to be very mindful of purchases so we don’t typically exchange gifts for any holidays – we usually go out for a nice meal and do something fun (Maine Lobster Festival for my birthday, Weeki Wachee for John’s) but we had opted for a quiet couple of days at home and decided a small gift exchange would be fun.

I got a cute pair of pink boots stuffed with candy, meats and crackers, and chocolates which were expertly wrapped in a Walmart reusable bag. John got some baking pans for baguettes and buns, a dough lame for scoring artisanal bread loaves, and a Danish whisk (a tiny bit selfish because I LOVE when he bakes bread). I also commissioned a picture for him and he seemed to like it, too. The artist, Joey Russell, did an AMAZING job showing John in his happy place – his hammock in the woods with our dog keeping him company.

We had a large snack spread for lunch consisting of BBQ Little Smokies, Ham and Cheese sliders, macaroni salad and cookies. John went all out for dinner and made steaks with the most amazing potatoes! We spent the day watching Christmas movies and playing with Harley and the cats.

On the 29th, we took Harley and drove over to Falling Waters State Park to see the waterfall and sinkholes. The waterfall only had a “moderate flow” according to the sign at the park entrance (it looked like a little trickle to us) but it was still neat. There were SO MANY sinkholes in the park.

We also enjoyed walking the trails through the woods and sitting by the lake.

Later that evening after we got home, John had taken Harley out for a walk when he called me and told me to come outside. I found him down on the fishing pier staring out at the water. It was a clear and quiet night and the moon was shining brightly over the lake. It was one of the prettiest things I have ever seen.

On New Year’s Eve, we set out for one final adventure for 2023 – visiting the Florida Caverns in nearby Marianna, Florida. We explored the main part of the park for a bit then took the paid tour of the large caverns. It was tough going at times (even I had to walk stopped over at some points so I can’t imagine how it felt for people of a normal height!) but it was really cool to see the different rock and mineral formations.

We got to see formations known as “Donald Duck”, “The Wedding Chapel” room, and “The Cathedral”. For a rock nerd like me, this was an excellent adventure.

I also faced my fears and crawled through a smaller cave outside of the large underground caverns. I was able to walk through most of it but, at the end, did have to drop to hands and knees and crawl through. Of course, John got a few pictures to commemorate the experience.

We rang in the new year quietly at home (asleep) and spent the first week of 2024 enjoying the campground at Three Rivers. It was such a refreshing, calm place to be able to reflect on the last year and consider our hopes, dreams and plans for the future. We absolutely hated to leave this beautiful spot but it was time to move on to Alabama for the first of our month long stays.

I took SO MANY PICTURES at Three Rivers – please enjoy:

A LOT of effort goes into locating and scheduling campgrounds for us to visit so, typically, John and I sit down together and plan our travel destinations months in advance. First of all, we have to find a campground near someplace that we want to be. Once we find a place, we have to check pricing (we are pretty cheap) and see what hookups they offer (we MUST have water and electric – sewer is preferred but not a deal breaker). Then, we have to read through all of the rules and restrictions to make sure that they allow pit bulls. Finally, we have to call or email and make sure that our tiny house will be welcomed there. Some parks are very strict about what types of campers or RVs they will let in (sometimes its just aesthetics and sometimes it’s for insurance purposes) and the last thing we want is to show up for check-in and be turned away. Once all of this is done, we reserve our spot and don’t have to worry too much about things. Every once in a while, though, plans change at the last minute and we have to scramble to come up with other arrangements.

We were just getting ready to leave Sebring, Florida and head to Inverness when we got a phone call letting us know that the park we had scheduled after Holder Mine (about 2 1/2 weeks in the future) had closed their campground due to hurricane damage sustained over the summer and would not be able to accommodate us. Florida had been tricky enough as it is (parks fill up fast, lots of areas had pit bull legislation, many parks did not allow tiny houses, and several parks were for ages 55 and over only) to find lodging 6+ months in advance and now we needed a campground for just a few weeks out. To make matters worse, a lot of campgrounds in the same area had suffered similar damage and were either closed or had limited availability. We had to alter our course and pick a new area to visit. After several internet searches and phone calls, John was able to get us in at a County Campground just about 45 minutes south of Tallahassee. We were able to book for the entire two weeks – December 9th through December 23rd.

Newport campground was fairly cheap and had full hookups so that was a plus. They had individual trash cans on each with with trash pickup every day. The spots were very close together but there was some greenspace in the center of the park to walk Harley and they also had a few boardwalk trails leading over to the nearby river and boat ramp.

As per tradition, we opted to dine out on our first evening in town. We drove into Tallahassee to check things out and grabbed a bite to eat at Midtown Caboose. John had the Liberty Bell and I had the French Onion Burger. We had The Orient Express appetizer as well (coconut shrimp with strawberry jalapeño cream cheese for dipping).

One thing that we miss on the road is decorating for Christmas. We put up a few things inside and we have an inflatable snowman for the yard but it just isn’t an option to go all out with lights and decorations and a tree. Because of this, we try to find large light displays to check out to help us get in the Christmas spirit. In Tallahassee, we found ourselves at Dorothy B. Oven Park. It’s a little strange celebrating without snow but we chose to visit on a night when temperatures were in the low 60’s so we could at least wear long pants and a jacket instead of shorts and flipflops so that helped, too. We walked through a magical wonderland and had a great time.

We were also delighted to discover that we were just across the road from St. Mark’s National Wildlife Reserve. We loaded Harley into the car and drove over one evening. John had been doing much better with his foot but this was a nice park to visit because we could mostly drive through and just make stops when we wanted to pop out of the car and see wildlife.

The road ended at the location of a gorgeous beach and lighthouse. We got out and walked Harley around the lighthouse grounds and up and down the beach.

We didn’t really plan this little adventure but we somehow ended up there right at that golden hour of sunset. It was breathtaking.

We also made a day trip to nearby Edward Ball Wakulla Springs State Park. While these springs are no longer the classic clear blue waters of some of the other locations we had visited, it had once looked like a tropical paradise. Several movies including Tarzan’s New York Adventure starring Johnny Weissmuller and Creature from the Black Lagoon used the area for filming. The park was also the site where a mastodon skeleton was recovered along with at least nine other prehistoric animals.

In addition to boat tours and walking trails, Wakulla Springs also has a lodge which is on the list of Historic Hotels of America and has a restaurant overlooking the swimming beach. We enjoyed a nice lunch (John had the Fried Shrimp and I had a Shrimp Po’Boy) before exploring the park.

The boat ride was probably one of my favorites. Our guide was really funny AND incredibly knowledgeable and we saw such a variety of wildlife. In addition to manatees we spotted ducks, herons and several other birds.

We also saw several alligators including one of the largest ones I have ever seen! We weren’t able to get a clear photo of the big guy but many of the others were easily easily seen and were the perfect models.

On December 22nd, John’s boss let him off early to get a jump on the holiday weekend so we decided to make the most of the unexpected free time. For our final adventure, we drove to the small town of Apalachicola- an adorable fishing town right along the coast. We walked along the water and saw a ton of pelicans!

We also enjoyed lunch at Hole in the Wall -the oysters and fried clam strips were amazing. Then we drove around piers and shopped at a few small shops in town to pick up some wine and snacks for the holiday weekend before moving to our last spot of the year the following day.

Our arrival in Inverness, Florida on November 26th was kind of a blur. Although I was starting to recover from my COVID experience, the drive still wore me out. I spent several days just taking it easy around the house. I hadn’t paid much attention to Holder Mine Campground when we arrived but did get to see a little more of it as the week went on. We did have an enormous campsite that Harley enjoyed very much and, as I started to feel better, I would spend time sitting outside with her.

The campground was busy on the weekend but quiet through the week. We had to use the shower house as we were lacking sewer hookup and the dump station wasn’t super conveniently located. The showers were….okay. They had good temperature and pressure but weren’t very clean. I did find a snail in the stall with me one morning, however. Bonus nature!

On Friday, I had been quarantined for 9 days and was losing my mind from boredom. John took the day off and we drove over to Homosassa Springs State Park to see my friend Sue. Sue had been one of the volunteer coordinators at the Columbus Zoo back in Ohio when I was there and had since retired and moved to Florida. She now spent her time volunteering at Homosassa Springs. I had seen several beautiful photos that she had posted online and decided I had to see this park.

We arrived in time to meet up with my friend, Sue, and walk around with her for a few minutes. We watched her give a presentation about manatees and the park and then accompanied her to the part of the park where they house the manatees that are currently in their care for medical issues where she continued speaking with guests while tossing lettuce to the hungry residents.

The weather was a little chilly but that made it perfect for manatee viewing! Usually, the manatees lived in the Gulf but when the temperatures would drop, the water in the Gulf would become too cold and the manatees would flock to many of the parks along the coast to the warm waters of the springs which were a constant 72 degrees. We saw so many manatees!

The park also had a collection of native animals that were now housed there due to various illnesses or injuries that made them unable to survive in the wild. They also had Lou the hippo who had belonged to a zoo once but was so beloved by the area residents that they park kept him, despite the fact that hippos are not native to the United States. He was a very handsome fellow and definitely made an impression.

That weekend, we also visited Weeki Wachee Springs State Park to see the mermaid show! Ever since I was little, I have been obsessed with mermaids and would pretend to be one in my parents swimming pool as often as I could get away with it. I would constantly monitor the temperature until it reached a temperature that my mom deemed acceptable for swimming and I would stay in the water until someone (my parents or our poor babysitter, Sherrie) would decide they had had enough of my teeth chattering and would physically drag me from pool while I insisted through blue lips that I wasn’t cold.

The mermaids were absolutely spectacular! Thanks to long wand-like contraptions that the mermaids could take a breath of air off of, they were able to stay underwater for the entire show – no surfacing to breathe! They performed several musical numbers and mouthed along the words to the music as it played over the speakers in the underwater theater. The costumes were beautiful and the I watched them perform with a huge smile on my face and my eyes sparkling with childlike joy.

We also sat through one of the ranger talks where we were introduced to several native species.

Included in the price of admission to the park was a really peaceful boat ride through the park. We didn’t see much wildlife on the boat but the scenery was lovely and I never pass up the opportunity to ride on a boat.

Our final stop in Weeki Wachee was at a strip mall, of all places. One of the difficulties of being on the road is getting mail. We don’t really get much in the way of paper mail but we still needed a mailing address when we sold our house and hit the road. John found us a company that would receive our mail and scan it for us and we set that up as our new address. Most of the time we would tell them to trash whatever they received for us but in the rare occassion that they weould get something we needed, they would forward it on to any address of our choosing. The company has offices all over the country and John could have chosen pretty much anywhere to base our “residence”.

Instead, he made the mistake of letting me pick and I chose Weeki Wachee – because, of course, I am a mermaid at heart. While we were in town, we took a minute and stopped by and actually retrieved the mail from our box in person. It was kind of neat to see our “home” after all that time.

Unfortunately, the adventures of the weekend were just small distractions from the worry growing in my heart. One of our cats, Mama Kitty, hadn’t been acting quite right for the past week and over the weekend she pretty much stopped eating. By the time we could call a vet on Monday morning, I had pretty much accepted that this trip to the vet would be her last. We found a clinic that squeezed us in and John took a few hours off work to take us.

The entire staff was so sweet but, unfortunately, there was nothing they could do aside from confirming my worst fears (cancer) and supporting us through saying goodbye as Mama went to sleep one last time in my arms. John drove me back home and did his best to comfort me while I dissolved into a puddle of tears. I spent the next few days alternating between catatonic zombie and gushing snot fountain. I love all of my animals but Mama Kitty and I had a special bond – were were soulmates. She helped me heal after the loss of our daughter. She “nursed” me through knee surgery and countless illnesses. She went to work with me every day at the book store that we used to own. Just when we thought we had her figured out, she decided to be a foster mom to the last litter of kittens we raised in 2020 – the litter that included Boots Junior and Pallas who found their forever homes with us. She bossed me around constantly and I am pretty sure she passed much of her time plotting my demise. I loved her deeply.

Mama had been diagnosed as FIV+ back in 2012- just a few weeks after we had agreed to take her in “just for the winter” to help her recover from terrible sores and missing fur all over her body. The vet told us we would be lucky to have 5 good years. We had 11. While it still hurt like hell, at least I had no doubts. No regrets. No second guessing. I knew I had saved her life and given her 11 years that she definitely would not have had if we had not brought her into our home. I had 11 magical years with my furry best friend. There is no situation where 11 years was enough but it was 6 more years than I was supposed to have so I couldn’t be too hard on myself or too mad at the universe. The vet’s office expedited the cremation so we could have her back before moving on to our next spot and we picked up her ashes a few days later.

After a few days, John decided I needed to get out and get my mind off of things so he took another vacation day and took me to Silver Springs State Park for a ride in one of their glass bottom boats. The park was peaceful and gorgeous. Being on the water was exactly what I needed to sooth my soul. We learned that several movies had been filmed in the park over the last several decades and, with the gorgeous scenery and the crystal clear waters, I could see why it was chosen as the backdrop for many tropical-themed films.

We saw a variety of birds and other wildlife but the most amazing moment is when some manatees passed beneath our boat. The guide cut the engine and let the boat float there so we could watch them through the glass bottom. We also got to see the remains of an old Native American canoe and a few statues that had been put in the water for a movie that was shot there and left behind when filming wrapped. Water really does have healing magic.

The following day, we left Holder Mine and made the trek to our next park – Newport Campground just south of Tallahassee.

This was a rough post. Let’s end with some more photos of us having a blast at Weeki Wachee:

On November 11th we left O’Leno State Park and moved to the southernmost point of our trip in Sebring, Florida. We typically don’t have any specific timeframes or destinations in mind when we choose our stops but our travels for the previous few months had all been with this destination in mind for my cousin’s wedding on November 20th. Coincidentally, John’s grandparents had also moved to the area a few years ago so we had plans to see them as well.

We found an available campsite in Sebring – just about an hour’s drive south of Winter Haven at Highland Hammock State Park. The park itself was very pretty and had some nice trails. Unfortunately, John was still having a hard time getting around due to his gout flareup so Harley and I had to do much of the exploring on our own. After one walk into the woods we came home and pulled 5 ticks out of Harley’s fur so we mostly stuck to walking the paved paths through the campground after that.

There were tons of deer, however, which resulted in a lot of barking on Harley’s behalf. We also got to see a few armadillos and Harley met her first tortoise. At first, she didn’t even notice it – even though it was pretty enormous. Then, when she did see it, she thought it was a rock. Then it moved for the first time.

Harley did not know what to think. She jumped back and kept looking between the tortoise and me as if to ask, “Did you see that shit, too?”. She really couldn’t figure out what was happening and, after much deliberation, decided that barking at it was the way to go. The tortoise did not care. At all. Eventually, Harley was just too bewildered to carry on and walked away.

It rained for much of our first week in town (and John still couldn’t walk) but we did get to meet John’s grandparents for lunch twice. One meal was at a small diner and the other was at the Jacaranda Hotel for their buffet lunch. The hotel was lovely and the food was pretty good – especially the desserts! The best part, however, was the company. It was great to visit with family. We had made plans to do a boat tour and see some alligators but the weather ended up ruining those plans. We also visited their house and made arrangements to meet for Thanksgiving Day lunch at a nearby restaurant the following week.

On the 19th, we drove to Cherry Pocket Steak N Seafood in Lake Wales for the rehearsal dinner for the wedding. My cousin Austin had lived in Florida for several years and, although we had met his fiancé on a few occasions before, we had never met any of his family as they live in Scotland. It was a little stressful meeting new people but they were all just so welcoming and lovely that we immediately relaxed. It was also wonderful to see some of my family from Ohio- my cousin Alex and his wife and daughters, my cousin Heather along with her daughters, and my aunt and uncle.

The wedding was held on Monday November 20th. We got all dressed up and enjoyed a wonderful evening watching as Austin and Stuart were married and their families came together to show so much love and support.

On Tuesday, we visited the newlywed’s at home where they hosted an open house for friends and family. Since so many people had come from other states and other countries, they wanted to be able to spend as much time as possible together. It was wonderful seeing their home and meeting many of their friends. We also got to spend some more time with my cousins and my aunt and uncle. They invited us to Thanksgiving Dinner as well – they were having a big dinner to introduce the Scottish family to a traditional American Holiday.

We were so excited – TWO THANKSGIVING DINNER INVITATIONS! For a couple of nomads traveling across the country, the idea of spending a holiday surrounded by family was really a great thing.

We also stopped at a gas station on the way to the open house to satisfy our curiosity about something. We had driven by this gas station several times during the week and had seen a table set up selling fruit drinks out of big Gatorade coolers. We finally decided to stop and see what it was about. Let me tell you – it was AMAZING. Like many of our adventures, it was super sketchy but delicious! We got some sort of creamy strawberry concoction and it was heavenly. We made all of our family try it at the open house. It was just so good.

Then disaster struck. I was feeling a little sick on Wednesday and then woke up Thanksgiving morning feeling like death. I did not feel up to functioning so I texted my cousin to let him know we would not be coming over. John was feeling fine and his grandparents still wanted to get together so he still met them and had a nice lunch at least. I napped on the couch watching movies and feasting on toast.

Over the next few days, the news came in – many of the wedding guests were sick (including the grooms) and we were pretty sure it was COVID. That was something we could have definitely done without. Suddenly, sharing that delicious fruiting drink with everyone seemed like it might have been a bad idea.

We also had to move that weekend and also faced a slight problem – we didn’t have a place to park the house on Saturday night. The park that we were leaving had a 14 day limit and we had reached it. They would not make an exception. The park that we were heading to did not have any openings until the next night. We had known about this in advance (for several months) but it had kind of slipped from our minds. Thankfully, John was able to secure us a one night stay at a Love’s Gas Station which had just opened up a few full-hookup camping sites at one of their nearby truck stop locations.

With a head full of snot, I drove the hour and a half to the gas station on Saturday where I walked directly in the house and collapsed onto the couch to try to recover the energy for the remaining 2 hour drive the next day. We left the house attached to the truck overnight so thankfully there was very little teardown or setup for the next day. I was starting to feel a bit better on Sunday but the drive was still exhausting. We didn’t have any major mishaps (thank goodness) and arrived at Holder Mine Campground in Inverness, Florida on Sunday afternoon where I was able to finish my recovery.

Our first stop in Florida was O’Leno State Park in High Springs – about 45 minutes from Gainesville. The park was GORGEOUS. Tons of sandy trails through the forest, a picturesque river running through, very quiet and isolated- it was lovely. We also got to see our first wild tortoises and armadillos!

John started having foot pain the day we arrived. The doctor confirmed a few days later that he was having a gout flareup and that his Achilles tendon was also irritated. We didn’t know how long the recovery would be but we knew from past experience that he would be down for a while. Harley and I enjoyed a lot of long walks in the woods before the heat of the day set in. We also walked along the river and found some incredibly huge pinecones deep in the woods.

It wasn’t full hookup but that’s okay. We were no strangers to using the public shower houses at campgrounds. This one was a nightmare, though. There was barely any water flow and it went from freezing cold to scalding hot and there was nothing you could do to adjust it. We just rushed through as quickly as we could and hoped we were all rinsed off before it got too hot to stand under. The bathroom and showers were also filthy. We almost felt dirtier when we got out of the shower than when we got in. We began to experiment with showering every other day and using dry shampoo during this period. Thankfully, though, a new camp host arrived several days after we got there and she spent an entire day scrubbing the shower stalls and even managed to take the shower heads apart and clean them enough to get water flow back in a few stalls. She was my favorite part of this stop, hands down.

Aside from a few trips into Gainesville for food, we mostly just spent time at home so John could rest and recuperate. We celebrated a quiet Halloween at home while we were there. We did manage to make it out to eat at a great BBQ restaurant recommended by one of our friends – Mojo Hogtown Bar-B-Que. I highly recommend it if you ever find yourself in the area.

My strongest memory from this park would have to be the following experience. I will end this post with this recollection:

A little background – John usually takes Harley out at night and I take her during the day. John is easily able to fall asleep again after coming in with her while I would be awake for hours. Also, I get a little scared walking around dark campgrounds in the middle of nowhere during the wee hours of the morning. With him not being able to walk because of his gout, I was taking her out all the time so I was already a little preoccupied and off-kilter at 1:30 AM wandering through the pitch black campground hoping to not find anything scary. I was watching for deer and bears and spiders, mostly, so it startled me when another woman came walking out of the bath house. I had just assumed boogeyman and alligators would not be coming from the ladies room. It’s pitch black so I have my headlamp on so she probably can’t see ME, just a light bobbing around in the darkness so I said hi and she asked if I was lost and I said I was just walking my dog as I didn’t want her to feel threatened or mistake ME for a boogeyman. Just a lady with a dog- nothing to worry about.

Then she says, “ Have you met George?”

I am still very much asleep so I hesitated, trying to figure out if I heard her right and who the hell George was. Then she supplied further clarification by saying, “He’s our dragon”.

My sleep fogged brain froze for a minute and I thought to myself “What in the Florida Man hell is this?” and “Is this how I die? Murdered by some crazy person in this shitty campground?” And, again because my brain is soup and my default setting is panic/anxiety also “HAVE I met any dragons lately? I don’t want to be antisocial or rude or anything”.

Then I remembered that one of the camp sites has a giant inflatable Halloween dragon in front of it. I said “OH! Yes! I DID see that earlier!”

To which she replied “Ok. Good night!” and walks off into the night while I was left very confused. Needless to say we returned to the house quickly and I laid awake for several hours contemplating all the decisions in life that led me to this point.