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Lebanon KOA (March 26-30)
We moved to a KOA in Lebanon, Ohio. We got the upgraded site with a patio and firepit. It was very nice. The campground is great and had a lot of area for walking. We enjoyed our stay here. Nice and quiet campground with nice staff.
We went to the Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio. It was quite a museum! I always have liked the nose art.
As we were leaving the museum, there were people setting up for flying some cool kites.
On Tuesday we visited the Springboro and Cincinnati free little art galleries. I picked up some really cute stuff!
I had done some watercoloring practice and had new goodies to leave.
A friend had told me that we were close to “Ohio’s Largest Dollar Tree” and being that we love crazy stuff like that, we had to go. Well, apparently, Ohio has a pretty low threshold on size of Dollar Tree’s. The exterior was promising, but deceptive. We were not impressed, as this store seems to be an average sized store for Texas….but as they say, everything IS bigger in Texas! LOL! We did find Chili Spaghetti *shudder* and Cincinnati Chili in the freezer section….no, we didn’t try it.
On the 29th, I had plans to meet up with a friend I have known online for several years and have never met in person! I was so excited! She lives in Louisville, which was not far from where we were staying! Ed wanted to visit the base there, so he and I had lunch at Mission BBQ (fabulous place, btw). I love that they always have a place setting for a POW/MIA soldier. It is a great way to remember those who are so often forgotten.
After Mission, I met up with Kristen and Ed went to the base. Kristen and I had a wonderful time, I introduced her to her local free little art gallery, we went to a great art marketplace and then we met up with her adorable daughter, Audrey for supper. It was a great time and I am so glad we were able to meet up! I look forward to seeing her again when we are in the area!
Now to pack for our move to Bluffton, Indiana!
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Pikeville RV Park (March 22-26)
We moved to Pikeville, KY into a little RV Park that seems to be run by the county. It is located right next to a city park, which makes for a busy area…especially when kids are at the playground being rowdy. It wasn’t a bad little campground, but not a very secure one, either. It’s fine as a passing through campground, but I wouldn’t want to be here long term. The college/high school ball fields are very close and get loud during games. The campground itself was pretty empty the days we were there. There are some great areas for walking.
We hiked up to the top of a little hill overlooking the highway. Ed was not thrilled with the climb LOL!
On Thursday the 23rd, we did the historic car tour of the Hatfield & McCoy’s. It was a cool tour, we got a free cd at city hall and played the audio while we drove the tour. There should be a warning that the roads are very narrow in some places and not exactly easy for a large truck. We had to back out of one road, as there was no way to turn around! The first photo is a casket, yes, a casket, that we saw when I stopped to retrieve a letterbox. The second photo is a crypt that slid off the hillside! Eeek!
Next day few days were rainy and we just chilled and packed for our move to Ohio.
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Greensboro KOA (March 20-22)
We moved to a KOA in Greensboro, NC for a few days as we are now headed to the Durango factory to get the warranty repair work done. So the next week, we will be moving more often! The KOA is nice and was good for walking (one of my priorities lately).
While in there area, I visited a few Free Little Art Galleries in the Winston-Salem and Raleigh-Durham areas.
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Twin Lakes Campground (March 13-20)
On March 13, we moved to Chocowinity, NC at Twin Lakes Campground. This is an Encore park and we enjoyed this campground. It has a cool setup with little waterways within the campground. It is a great place for walking! I didn’t get a photo of our actual site, but I did take several photos while walking around the campground.
Scooby decided to challenge this bear…after freaking out when he first saw it! LOL!
While staying here, we explored Edenton, Williamson, Bear Grass and Washington. All really cool places! The photos of the neighboring white and blue house…these houses were both hit with cannonballs and the balls are still in the walls!
We went to Camp LeJeune on the 17th to check out the campground there, as we plan on staying there in the fall. It is a cool place…the campground is right on the beach and we are told that some days you can sit on the beach and watch the soldiers ‘storm the beach’. Ed tried out his new shell scooper!
We spent the last couple of days just chillin’ and packing up for the next move.
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The Oaks at Point South (Feb 8-22)
We moved to Yemassee, SC to The Oaks at Point South campground. This campground is a bit tight and small, but we got a decent site and the location is right between Charleston, SC and Savannah, GA. This made it nice for being able to visit both cities/areas. We got an end site on the row, which I always like, as they are usually more spacious and you also only have one neighbor to contend with.
There was a nice walking trail around a little lake in the back of the campground. It has alligators in it, so we had to keep Scooby nice and close. We saw several gators, but they never seemed to mind us…they were just chill.
The first week, we just kinda poked around the area a bit, found some cool places by happenstance and explored. The first area we stumbled upon was the Old Sheldon Church Ruins. It was a cool place and we spent a while exploring the area and the tombs/gravesites there.
We also went to the Hunting Island State Park and walked the beach, saw the lighthouse and man, was the pollen out in force! The photos of the road, the yellow stuff is the pollen…Allergy Haven!
We found another ruins, Chapel of Ease, which was a cool place also. I am always intrigued by historic ruins.
**Sorry, the photos loaded as a gallery and I didn’t take the time to reload them**
This last photo was taken as I was driving across the bridge, Ed saw this guy having his supper, nice catch!
We went to Folly Island on the 13th and I had to post these photos of Ed getting into the big adarondack chair, because he had me cracking up! He slid all the way to the back of the chair and then let out a big sigh. LOL!
On Valentine’s Day (our anniversary) we decided to go to Savannah for the day and rode the tourist trolley. It was a really beautiful day and we have decided that we will have to return again and take a few days to really enjoy the city.
The buildings are really interesting! I love all the architecture and various styles that have developed over the years.
The Cathedral of St John the Baptist was stunning! I could have spent hours in there! While we were there, a man was giving a tour and explaining all the intricacies and I hope that the next time we are here, we can take a tour to learn more about the cathedral. There was so much to look at and admire!
We ended the night with an anniversary dinner at Ruth’s Chris in the wine cellar. It was a wonderful meal and just the right topper for our day!
We visited Edisto State Park on the 15th and the shells were in abundance! I find it cool that the beaches almost always have some kind of artistic display such as this remembrance tree.
We discovered that the walking trail at the campground connects to the neighboring KOA, so we went to check it out. It has a pizza kitchen, so Ed was quite excited to get a menu for ordering pizza! LOL! They had a cute caboose you can rent and we saw another gator and a squirrel on our way back…hopefully they get along!
On Thursday the 16th, we visited Tybee Island and saw the lighthouse there. I love going to places like this in the off season when there are no crowds!
We also visited the Oatland Island Wildlife Center. It was a pretty neat place and wonderful for walking on a nice day.
We ended the day by visiting Bonaventure Cemetary; woah, this place is amazing! I had no idea how huge it was and how many interesting monuments/burials are here. We will be returning here some day. We were letterboxing and discovered that you can get a map to follow that tells all the great places to see and the history of the sites. We found these quilted hearts hanging from the trees and thought it was a really neat project! I found one and Ed found one, I took one home to Mama when I visited.
On Saturday the 18th, we drove to Augusta, GA to meet up with Vickie and her mom, Kathy! We had a wonderful visit! We talked and talked and talked…. LOL!
On Monday the 20th, we visited Hilton Head
That does it for Yemassee. Next we are headed to Myrtle Beach!
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Blythe Island (Jan 25-Feb 8)
We moved to Blythe Island in Georgia. Ed isn’t feeling well and I have been letting him rest while I explore the campground. I really love this campground! It has lots of hiking trails and BUNNIES!!! The bunnies greeted us right away and I fed them, so they really like our site.
Ed did not feel good for about 5-6 days, so we just relaxed and enjoyed the downtime. After such a busy Florida stop, we needed the recharge. We had a campfire one night and it was lovely!
When Ed started to feel better, we ventured out to St. Mary’s Dungeness Beach and Fort Clinch. The fort was a really interesting place with lots of artifacts and it was a huge place. The beach was foggy but had lots of sand dollars. We had a really good time.
On Tuesday the 31st, we went to the Golden Isles. We visited the St. Simons Lighthouse, went to Glory Beach and collected more sand dollars and visited a spooky place on Jekyll Island called driftwood beach. We had lunch at a great place called Totuga Jacks….wonderful veggie tacos there!
Our last stop that day was a place we just happened upon. It was the Georgia Sea Turtle Hospital. We were greeted by a volunteer walking a (non-sea) turtle who had been injured on the road. We visited the center and were able to watch the sea turtles being fed. It was a really cool place and fun experience.
We spent many days at the campground, enjoying it’s beauty and tranquility.
We visited St Simons Island and visited the beach. We also hunted the carved trees of St Simons…it was a fun time! The trees are like spirits of the islands. I really enjoyed hunting and finding all of them.
On Saturday the 4th, we rode the Georgia Coastal Railway. Honestly, it was pretty pitiful. I realize we are spoiled, but while the train was in good shape and clean, there were no views, certainly no coastal views and the musician was literally sitting in our personal space. He was a nice guy, but I was not too into the music he played and hated being squeezed into my seat so uncomfortably. Luckily, it was very affordable.
We spent a lot of our time at the campground. I really loved the area. We will stay here again for sure!
These are the sand dollars and shells I collected from the Golden Isles
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Thousand Trails Orlando (Jan 11-25)
We moved to TTO and the check in process is run like a well oiled machine! We arrived at the gate and were directed to a staging area where we lined up with other arriving RVs. When it was our turn, we were escorted by an employee on a golf cart to different sites that met our expectations and when we found one we liked, we claimed it and settled in.
We got a great site and made a new buddy right away who we decided was part of the welcoming committee!
We spent our first full day in Orlando at The Magic Kingdom (Disney World), of course! I mean, let’s be real, the ONLY reason we go to Orlando is to go to Disney! LOL! It was a great day and we even spent the entire day there instead of going home to rest mid-day like we usually do. The weather was perfect and we were really having a good time.
We spent the second day at Animal Kingdom.
I was super happy to discover that the Lion King and the Nemo and Friends live shows were operating again! They are a highlight of a visit to Animal Kingdom and had been suspended during COVID. Some of the cast has changed, which was a bit disappointing, but understandable. I hope the previous cast members are somewhere using their talents…as they are certainly missed. Now, the new cast is great, so I don’t mean to take from them.
We did something different to our usual ‘Disney’ visit. We decided to break up the days, since we had plenty of time in the area this time. We took the weekend to just relax and enjoy the campground. We tend to lay low on weekends these days, as it gets too ‘people-y’ out for us on weekends! LOL!
I had to post this photo, because Scooby and I were sitting outside one day enjoying the beautiful weather and this kid rode up on his bike. Scooby started whining and shaking…I kept saying to him ‘what is your issue?’ until I looked up at the kid. It was then that I was taken aback also…he looked so much like James from the back! It is kinda weird, too, as the tattered flag image on his shirt looks similar to James’ tattoo.
On Monday the 16th, we drove around Orlando to visit a few of the Free Little Art Galleries in the area. We also went to Trader Joe’s where I had an interesting situation occur. As with most TJ’s, this one had a ridiculously small parking lot that was packed. I drove around several times and a spot opened up. I pulled into the spot and parked. (Short diversion for clarity…both Ed and I have disabled parking rights/plates, due to our individual disabilities…I won’t go further, because it is our private medical business, but it is part of the story). As I was getting out of the truck, an elderly man backed up from about 10 spaces away, got behind my truck and started screaming at me that I took his spot. I didn’t get a chance to respond and he said “AND it’s a handicapped spot, IDIOT”. Well, since he was elderly, I simply said “I’m sorry you think I took your spot, but I did not.” I started walking to where Ed was and the man got out of his car and I hurried to where Ed was while the man screamed behind me “YOU STUPID PIECE OF WHITE TRASH!” I was equally mortified and amused. I have been called many things, but this was a first….white trash….imagine if he knew I lived in a camper!!! He could have called me white TRAILER trash. Anyhoo….this kinda exemplifies why I don’t like to be in places that are too ‘people-y’. I probably would have moved if he had been nice, because I do have a soft spot for the elderly, especially ones who are disabled, but being old doesn’t give anyone the right to verbally assault someone. **Disclaimer-I’m gonna be preachy until the next photo, so skip if you prefer. Both my husband and I have an invisible disability. Both of us have received our disability parking rights, as everyone who has them must, from a medical physician who determined our needs. When you observe someone utilizing the disabled parking that you think ‘doesn’t look’ disabled, pause a minute and think. There are SO many invisible disability battles that the people around you are fighting. Those people don’t owe you any explanation. If you truly believe someone is breaking the LAW by parking in disabled parking, call the police and report it. It is NOT anyone else’s job or business to ‘police’ disabled parking. Also, while I am ranting, if you happen to park next to a disabled parking spot, don’t ride the line or park partly in their space or the lined area. People with wheelchairs or ability devices need that space to safely get out of their vehicles and get situated. I know this sounds like common sense, but sometimes we do things that we don’t realize might be infringing on others. **RANT OVER**
We went to Universal Studios on Tuesday (17th). As always, it was amazing.
We went to Hollywood Studios on Wednesday (18th). We ate at a 50’s themed diner in the park and the waitstaff is hilarious there! I think this is also the first time we have gotten our photo with the dino that it wasn’t Christmas, so he looks funny to me without his Santa hat and wreath on his neck!
Thursday the 19th we went to Epcot. We were there during the Festival of the Arts. I always enjoy the chalk art that is done during the festival! It amazes me that such talent is just washed away after a while. The forced perspective one was stunning.
The photo below cracks me up. It makes me think of an 80’s couples photo LOL!
Friday evening, Ed and I got to meet up with my niece, Miryam whom we have not seen for around 12 years! It was so wonderful to catch up and share some time with her. AND, of course, I am consistently terrible at taking photos of people we visit! I tend to enjoy visiting so much that I forget to take photos with them.
On Monday the 23rd, we spent the day at Magic Kingdom again. I am fully aware that lots of people do NOT like It’s a Small World, but it is one of my favorite rides at MK. I love to Facetime James while on the ride, because it makes him and Ed both crazy! LOL!
We went to Downtown Disney on Tuesday the 24th and went to Gideon’s which was awesome! I have been wanting to go since they opened, but when we were here before, the lines were crazy long. We still waited about 30 minutes, but it was well worth it. I loved the decor and the cookies were divine! This will be a must every trip now.
As we were packing up and readying ourselves for the next journey, these guys came to tell us goodbye. We really enjoyed this campground and area. We will return for sure!
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A Stone’s Throw RV Park (Jan 9-Jan 11)
We moved to A Stone’s Throw RV Park in Monticello, Florida as just an ‘in-between’ for 2 nights on the way to Orlando.
I thought this sign was hilarious…it was a small road that lead only to the campground…
Their mailbox is adorable!!!
The campground is nice and we would certainly use it again when traveling through the area!
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Blue Angel Naval Recreation Area (Jan 2-Jan 9)
We arrived in Pensacola, Florida! The campground we stayed at is an old naval base that now has several loops of campgrounds, one being all cabins. It’s a campground for active or retired military only, which is really nice. The campground is very clean, roomy and well maintained. It is located on Perdido Bay. We got a great site with wonderful neighbors.
The ‘beach’ near our campsite On the trails Going on a walk around the base campground On Wednesday, we went to NAS base to go to the Aviation Museum, the lighthouse and the Exchange. If there is a base around, you can bet we are going to explore it!
A plane….they had lots of them LOL The Lighthouse & Museum…no longer accessible to the public, only accessible to those with base privileges. A diagram of the lighthouse and those 177 steps to the lens & external walkabout The Light & the House. We toured both. Ed evaluating the climb Looking up the stairway I would have much preferred solid steps A window about 1/2 way up… We made it to the top!!! Going down was much harder than going up…center of gravity was way off thanks to those stairs I earned this one! My legs felt like jelly after going up & down all those stairs! On Thursday, we drove to Mobile, Alabama to tour the battleship & visit a Free Little Art Gallery downtown.
USS Alabama I collected the art on the far left…titled Festive Parlor I left 2 ATC’s…I hope someone likes them! After visiting the F.L.A.G., we walked around the square where we parked. It is called Mobile Mardi Gras Park…it is a cool spot!
They still had their Christmas tree up Friday, we stayed home and did some chores around the house. Ed repaired some drawers that needed some stabilizing & reinstalled a cabinet door that has fallen off a few times.
Ed at work IN the cabinet! 😝 We spent the weekend cleaning, organizing & prepping for the move on Monday.
