Traveling Along

 

Monday Morning

How cool is this?
I am writing to you from the back seat of the RV as Alan drives. Our verizon card “air card” keeps me online most of the time but I just got kicked off as we drove into an area with different cell coverage. So, I’ll compose offline and post later.

I think we are in NC now. Alan got up way too early and we were on the road again just after 4 am, waking in the Walmart parking lot in Roanoke, VA. We’ll both wait to take showers since we are planning to stop at a campground in Savannah this afternoon with hookups and amenities – and the campground listing says it even has an RV car wash. The RV by itself doesn’t fit into most carwashes…and certainly wouldn’t with the boat. Both the van and the boat are filthy with remnants of new york mud and salt.

I don't drive at all when we are trailering the boat. Too big a leap from driving a 21 foot van with a few extra feet for extra tire and bikes (the latter which we left home this time) to this over 50 feet configuration.

It is warming up and the sun is shining.
And I am all set-up back here…with computer, kindle, books, my journal, snacks, etc.

Amazon has a press conference in a few minutes and I – and a lot of folks – am anticipating an announcement of an updated kindle…Back online so …Excuse me while I try to track it down.

Later.
Couldn’t find a live-video so I monitored three blogs each with live feed – in the moment-- of each blogger’s impressions and some photographs.
Just as expected, the kindle 2 was released with some great modifications and additions.
Not enough to entice me to update yet, but definitely makes a magical toy even better!

IF you plan to buy a kindle, please use the link on this site (on the right). It won’t cost you any more…or sadly, any less but if you purchase the kindle via this blog link my amazon associates account will be credited and I can order some free reads.

Later still.
Driving days like this are similar to long plane rides for me. I confess to eating junk food and playing Scramble on facebook. I started purging my overly-long list of “favorite” blogs
The ride is a little bumpy (road turbulence) but I get all three seats and all my stuff.

Got to campground outside Savannah. The carwash is broken! But the showers were good. Sat outdoors overlooking a large pond with ducks and geese.
To explore the city tomorrow.

We're On The Road Again

 
 
 

Sunday, February 8

510 miles and a 5-state day

1. Early morning at home. Alan hooking the boat to the van...it is dark and icy.
2. On the street, ready for final inspection.
3. Hours later

in Virginia, sunny and in the mid-60s.

4. No photo -- we are in a Walmart parking lot for the night. Easiest place to park (and free) when traveling with a "big rig." The Roadtrek and the boat measure approx. 50 feet and we are now parked with the truckers.

Boating Soon

 

 

The reality is our van and boat are down at the bottom of the driveway in snowy and cold upstate NY, waiting to go.

But, as you can see, we are ready to navigate the waters.

Depending on the weather, leaving for FL next weekend.

HOME and Baby, it's cold outside!

Well, what did we expect? As all you northeasterners know...that thermometer hovers around the single digits.

We arrived home on Saturday night. Our house cozy, clean, uncluttered, inviting (thanks, R) and BIG -- compared to living in a 21-foot van for most of our trip.
Sometimes I seem to be wandering from room-to-room.

I digress but -- we did stay a number of nights with friends and family in their lovely spacious houses...and this past Friday night was the only night we stayed in a motel. The vehicle had already been winterized because of the low temps -- and a motel provided more heat and hot showers.

We are really fine -- except for those who might question our mental health for returning at this time of year.
Although our decision seemed abrupt -- and it was spontaneous, like most of our traveling decisions this trip -- it was planned in the larger scheme of things.

We never had a specific date planned to return but we knew that after 6 - 7 months we planned to return home, stay a week or two, and then tow our boat to FL for the next part of the trip...boating in FL and up the ICW (Intracoastal Waterway).
And we have been on the road for over 7 months! Our departure date was way back on June 16.

There seems to be a weather window today for Alan and a friend to try to pull the boat out of its temporary garage before we get more snow.

Be in touch...we'll be here. Either here on the blog, via email (use regular format: BHpurple -- at -- aol -- dot -- com), or if you call the home/Afton office number, you'll get our cell number to reach us.

I'll be spending alot of time indoors -- unpacking and repacking, reading, stretching out while we have the space, visiting with friends, and sitting by the wood fire.

Hugs to all.

Driving Along...on Friday -Revised

Travelin along, singing a song, side-by-side....on the Music Highway between Memphis and Nashville.

At least we are listening to our IPOD and radio as we wend eastwards.
Billboards proclaiming Jesus' Love across ones advertising Adult Bookstores.
I wonder what we missed, having passed the signs for: Mousetail Landing State Park, the town of Bucksnort, and Miss Marble's Tea Room Antiques.

As I was driving a shift, I thought....hmmm, about this time yesterday I was getting a massage, and now I am part of the trucker traffic on I40. After 11 am with over 1100 miles to go.

The landscape is more similar now to home...barren deciduous trees and evergreens and clouds in the sky. Even when it has been cold during the last couple of weeks, the sky was clear blue with bright sun. Today it morphed to "partly sunny" then "cloudy" and now grey, lifeless drained grey --- guess I'll have to tolerate it for awhile.
The van is winterized and I hope we are too! Retrieved our boots and down jackets from storage. ETA -- probably sunday afternoon.

Home again, home again, jiggety-jog?

 

Although it's not the moon over Memphis...it's sundown driving towards (yet bypassing) Graceland
and wending our way east.

We know, the weather isn't great and some friends will be away...but ending this part of our journey feels right. Close to our estimate although we had never decided on an end date, we have been on the road over seven months now. In a few days, we'll be home. Planning to spend a couple of weeks and then tow our boat down to FL. for the next part of the "Dream Year."

Maybe we'll see you soon...

Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas

 
 
 

Yes, the photos in the entry below and these chronicle the bathhouse experience preserved in the traditional way in Hot Springs National Park. A number of rich mineral springs provide the town with 143 degree water which is then cooled for soothing and healing modalities -- bathing and drinking.

An interesting history -- with questions about whether it is the smallest National Park (probably) and if it is the oldest of the parks (maybe -- it was one of the first federally protected lands but its official designation changed years later when it became the 14th National Park.) Along bathhouse row, there are a couple of traditional bathhouses -- like the one pictured -- on contract with the park service to provide services. On the other side of the street are shops and restaurants and more contemporary spas.

I "took to the waters" and had the traditional bath treatment -- soaking in a whirlpool bath, a sitz bath, a steam, hot packs, followed by a "needle-shower" (the weird piped shower in photo) and a massage. All for the sake of research...what a hard life!!