1/30/15 Campgrounds Full Due Biblical Snows

"Naht again! Another massive blizzard buries Boston"

February 15, 2015

In Boston, close to a foot of snow fell on top of the 7-plus feet that's fallen so far this winter — making February the snowiest month in the city since record-keeping started in 1872

Many (if not most) people in Florida RV parks camp in the same place for several months of the winter season and make reservations a year ahead.   Since a year ago we were still toying with idea of  selling the house and living full time in the RV, we had only made reservations for a couple of Florida weeks in March.  Now "planner" Debra is panicked that we will be sleeping in Walmart parking lots for the winter.  As usual "by the seat of your pants" John has no worries.  He says there is always space in national or state parks that aren't by the water or near any interesting attractions.  Thanks John.... that makes me feel a lot better.  To add to  Debra's stress, she needs to be in one place for a month to get physical therapy on her shoulder.  We decide to make Marathon (in the middle of Florida Keys) our home for February and starting making reservations. 

Well guess what, everyone else has the same idea and as winter in the north continues to get "biblical amounts of snow, ice and below freezing temperatures", more campers than usual have been mass migrating south.  After searching the internet for campgrounds and hearing "we're full" a dozen times, we finally made reservations for the beginning and end of February but can't find anything for mid February.    John discovered by driving another hour south to Key West, we could stay at the Naval Air Station RV park (300+ sites).  Retirees can't make  reservations BUT they have never turned anyone away (so says their website and a phone call confirmed).  That takes care of February and we'll get planning March ASAP. 

1/27/2015 Making Our Way to the Florida Keys



Leaving Bull Run Park

Our last two weeks in Virginia camping at Bull Run Regional Park in Manassas was nice and quiet with only a dozen or so RV's settled in  the cold and snow.   The guarantee that came with our Excel RV of "good to 10 degrees below" was tested when temperatures dipped to the 20's.  No pipes froze and we were toasty warm inside. 

Transitioning away from Virginia was hard.  We had spent the last couple months enjoying time with Jack and our old neighborhood friends. Debra enjoyed working again with her friends and colleagues at Omega Wealth Management while  John continued to made progress on his SSG project.   Debra had surgery last week to clean up some worn out shoulder parts, but the doctor said she was good to travel.  Obviously, John had to do all the driving for a while.  



Leaving Skidaway Island

We left Virginia on January 23, 2015  stopping in Savannah, Georgia where we had a great visit with sister Denise, Stan and Vern.  The campground on Skidaway Island was so beautiful with the Spanish moss growing on the Live Oak trees.  Again, not many camping this time of year here so we had lots of space and privacy.  The turn into our site was tight but doable without unloading the kayak from the  bed of the truck...or so we thought.  CRACK goes the rear truck window as the front corner of the RV comes around and pushes the  kayak into the window.  Thank goodness the weather was good, as it took two days before we could get it replaced.  We enjoyed attending Sunday service at a new Center for Spiritual Living in Savannah which had a small but loving congregation. 

Space Coast RV Park

We spent our first night in Florida at Space Coast RV park (near Cocoa Beach). We had an easy pull-through site and didn't have to unhook the truck for this overnight stay. This helped us get going early the next morning so Deb could get to her first physical therapy appointment in Marathon (middle Keys). We each have a checklist of responsibilities to carry out at departure and arrival; the safety check revealed a flat tire on the RV. Thank goodness our site was next to a light pole because it was still dark outside. John did an amazing job swapping in the spare getting us out of there with only a 35 minute delay. Sure is nice having 4 built in hydraulic jacks on each corner of the RV used for leveling the rig AND changing tires.

The day didn't get better... we ran into 2 huge traffic jams, had GPS glitches, made wrong turns, and got stuck in places that required John's superior driving skills to extricate ourselves. Way behind schedule, we finally find our way back to the highway beyond the traffic jam and ....Debra... has... to... pee.  Let me just say that John is a Saint:)  We learned early on in our RV travels that you just have to go with the flow and stay calm or it ruins the whole day.  Too many things can and will disrupt perfectly good plans.  But guess what, we are in the RV which means we are in for an adventure for all it's worth.  AND IT'S ALWAYS WORTH IT!



Debra in Paradise



Overseas Highway, Florida Keys

Once we get south of Miami and onto the Overseas Highway, with the  clear aqua green Atlantic Ocean on one side of the road and the Gulf of Mexico on the other;  the world shifts on its axis and there is no such thing as a bad day. 

                        WELCOME TO THE FLORIDA KEYS!





1/9/2015 Winter Park CO

Winter Park, Colorado

Sunrise at Beaver Village Inn

The beginning of January was spent  in Winter Park, Colorado on a fabulous ski vacation with Zoe, Jack and our Virginia friends Marcia and Bill S.  On the first night we stayed in the old section of the Beaver Village Inn which is a classic old  ski lodge.  The stairway to the third floor got darker, narrower and more crooked the higher we climbed.  Our 2 bedroom "suite" was very basically appointed with wood ceilings and walls and lighting so old and dim you could not read a book by it. When I asked how to adjust the heat in our 100 degree room I was told, "it's old, no way to adjust".  So we slept with the window open all night (no screen, but no worries, no bugs at 20 degrees).   Ask for the "newer" section next visit.  We were greeted the next morning with a breathtaking sunrise and a breakfast buffet with everything you could ever want on it; a true bulk up to ski all day feast.



Jack, John, Debra and Zoe

Sunset View of Mountains from our Ski House

We stayed at our Colorado friend's Nancy and John B.'s wonderful ski house for the rest of the trip. Talk about going from rags to riches.  This 5 bedroom, 5 bathroom house only a few minutes from the ski slopes even had a hot tub on the deck.  Winter Park is the perfect place to ski with a great mountain next to a cute hippie town.  It's far enough off I-70 that it doesn't have the massive crowds like some Colorado ski areas.   

Skate Skiing at Devil's Thumb Ranch

Zoe and I found a wonderful yoga class and checked out the coffee shops and boutiques while John and Jack drove to Breckenridge to ski with our "kinda cousins" Mark, Patty and boys.  In the feet and feet of snow we downhill skied, snowshoed and the kids and John went to Devil's Thumb Ranch to skate ski (skate style like they do in the Olympics) and loved it.  Devil's Thumb Ranch is a must visit while in Winter Park.  This upscale operating ranch has a restaurant, spa and inn.  The lounging areas were great for afternoon tea and the beef meals were excellent.

Devil's Thumb Ranch - Marcia and Bill