Update from Illinois

So.....I have some time in the car today and hopefully I can get somewhere on the blog.  We are driving from Indiana, through Illinois to Wisconsin where we are staying with Don's dad for a few days.  We actually just left Don's mom and brother, Skylar, in Indiana so we are on the Reuter family portion of the trip! 

My next entry will be about Florida, which seems forever ago....definitely thousand of miles away as we just crossed the 9500 mile mark!  And yesterday we saw our first Colorado plate in the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore park.  

Update from Maine

Hey all!  We have made it to Maine!  I know we are very far behind and so I decided to give a quick update on where we are and what we have done.  I still plan to provide the details and pictures but it just seems we are getting farther and farther behind.  Too much internet time is spent trying to figure out where to go and what to do.   

We are having a great time!  Lots of interesting places and cultures!    Since our last post we spent another week plus in Florida….our favorite spot being being Fort De Soto Park near St Petersburg on the Gulf Coast.  We got to do some kayaking and biking despite the rains. 

We also had to take the car in for some work, an oil change, AC repair and even some new tires along the way…so while the trailer hasn’t been an issue the van has.  So the extra time and costs associated with going to the Keys became prohibitive.  Therefore we had to forego our plan to scuba dive in the Keys and start heading north….we crossed Florida, spent some time in St. Augustine and moved on the Carolinas.  We spent time in the Charleston area, Cape Hatteras and Asheville.  Asheville, near the Smoky Mountains definitely stands out as a favorite.  We drove up the Appalachians to Shenandoah National Park in Virginia, the Catskills in New York and finally found our way here to Maine.  We spent the first night in Maine in the southern coastal town of Wells and then drove up to Acadia National Park for several days!  Truly a majestic place with densely wooded forests, rugged coast and too many places to explore!  Unfotunately with 20 days left before we need to be back in Denver, it is time for us to start moving west.  We are heading to the White Mountains tonight.   This trip has shown us how truly big the US is and how short 6 months really is.  There is much to still see and come back too!

A small sampling of local flavors..

Of note…..we are about to pass the 7800 mile mark for the trip and we have yet to see a Colorado license plate since leaving the Colorado vicinity and we have found many new favorite beers. 

I will continue to post stories and pictures as I can. 

Manatee Springs

Even though the campgrounds were full we could still spend the day there and that is just what we did on our first full day in Florida....Manatee Springs State Park.   This state park has a beautiful spring that produces over 100 million gallons of fresh clear spring water each day and the spring runs through the wetlands into the Suwannee River.  A spot where manatees often swim up to the warmer waters.

Don was hoping to snorkel with the manatees as well as take advantage of the diving at the spring in the Park.  Unfortunately  our tanks were not full and there was no way to accomplish this here or anywhere close...So snorkeling it was.   And the snorkeling was very cool indeed.    For those of you that don't know....manatees are large marine mammals that can weigh up to 1300 pounds, sometimes called the sea cow.  They are large, gentle, slow moving animals that are vegetarians.  And we went snorkeling with a few of them.

Brochure picture of a manatee

The Springs...there are two manatee pictured in the foreground

I am ready to do this

In anticipation....

A real manatee...coming up for air

A manatee is in the back with Don right next to it!

A Happy Snorkeler....

But we weren't only swimming with manatee....there were water snakes (not many in the water or neither of us would have been in there) and vultures hanging out nearby.  

The vultures...

A snake swimming across the spring toward the snake tree...

The snake tree on the side of the Spring....
there were 7 or 8 snakes in this tree all afternoon

The park also had a nature trail that was on a boardwalk above the wetlands that took you out to the river....overall it was a good day and probably our best for this part of florida....swimming with the manatees in such clear water was really cool.

We are in Mayberry....

April 2nd we spent the day in the car...we wanted to make some miles and make our way down the panhandle.  If we were going to make it to the Keys then we needed to make some time.....little did we know at the time that that wouldn't be the case.  Anyway, we spent the day in the car and drove 340 miles....our longest trip in quite awhile.  

As we have become accustomed too...when Sheba is looking for some attention

she lifts her paw so that you can hold her paw....so cute!

Occasionally she gets to ride in a lap...the lap dog!

Finally we arrive in Mayberry...Okay so maybe not "Mayberry" , we are in Old Town, Florida at the Old Town Campground and Retreat with an unusual campground host in an unusual campground.

As a back story....we wanted to stay in Mantee Springs state park, but the campground was full so Julie found this place.  It had good reviews, was a reasonable rate so why not.  When she called Joe, the owner, answered the phone.  He was adamant that we had to be there by 7:00pm because he was closed thereafter.  Per Julie's iPhone we were to be in at 7:10.  We spent the day trying to make up the difference and even drove a 6 hour stint...non-stop...meaning no potty breaks.  And we pulled in two minutes before 7:00.  Per the sign he closes the gates at 7pm and doesn't open them until 9am.  Does that mean that we are going to be stuck in there until 9am every day?  When we got there this is what we saw....not sure the pictures really do it justice.    After calling him on the office phone, per directions, Joe met up with us on his golf cart and directed us in....wildly waving his arms and coming back to tell Don to speed up (so wish I had my camera ready for that one).  All we could do was chuckle!  We didn't know what we were in for...the plan was to stay a few days.  When we pulled in he said he had to go home for dinner and would be back!

The office

if you can see....Mayberry pictures are up on the wall!

Joe's golf cart....wish I had a picture of him in it!

Sheba's new thing....table surfing

When Joe came back he told us to come and pay in the office in the morning....scolded us for putting on bug spray and lighting our bug candle (maybe we are paranoid these days, but we felt the no-see-ums were out again).  Told us where the bathrooms were and that he only had one open because only 4 of us were going to be using it.  Seemed most of the other tenants were permanently living there in their RVs!  We were one of the few "guests" in the park!

Don needed some news...we know nothing of the world happenings

Our new campsite....

Then it was an exciting candlelight dinner of microwaved burritos, nachos and beer.  No....not terribly healthy but we needed to go to the store...it was that or mac and cheese!

And here's hoping that all works out in Mayberry...

Alabama

Tuesday, April 1 was spent in Alabama.  We had 

intended to drive through and stay in Florida but Julie was having trouble finding a campground.  But we did stop for an hour or so in Mobile.  We were interested in going to a plantation and thought there was one in Mobile.  The neighbor hood was sketchy at best, but the security guard assured us that everything would be fine.  Unfortunately it wasn't until we were there that we realized it was more of manor home than a plantation...darn website!  But we did the tour of Oakleigh anyway.....since we were there.

We had a personal tour and it was quite funny because everyone there kept referring to us as the "kayak people".  Our tour guide was a southern woman and she was very curious about our trip.  She asked a lot of questions, particularly of Julie how to pack for 6 months and what kinds of clothes I had brought and how I can handle so much camping.

 

Mobile, Alabama

One of Don's favorite signs...
what the heck are "speed lumps"?

First tunnel...under Mobile

The USS Alabama...this is for you Mike

What is the deal with Waffle Houses?  They are all over the South..
bigger than McDonalds down here....

What?  Are we driving by a Home Depot?

 So we pulled into the Gulf Shores RV park for the night....can't say we were very excited...it was a sea of RVs...much like the RV park in South Padre...but it will do for the night.

Our spot is better than most...at least we are on end and have some trees.

Time to trash the old microwave

No dogs on the beach here so we took Sheba for a quick walk before checking out the beach at sunset.

Despite the not so great campground for a hefty price, the Gulf Shores of Alabama was beautiful and the walk on the beach was a nice way to end the day!