Four AM came early today, around three thirty. We were both up well before the alarm went off, had the bed made and getting things set for departure. It is always surprising just how much needs to be done in that final hour or so before pulling the Doodle (our RV) out of the driveway. All the last minute stuff from the fridge, our meds and of course our technology. You just can't pack that stuff the night before because you need to use it all in the morning. So it was this time, the same as all the others, a flurry of motion, checking and double checking, finding just the right storage places...a place for everything and everything in it's place. It worked out well this time, we pulled out of the driveway at five am on Valentine's Day. We are headed south from our home in Rhode Island to sunny (hopefully) Florida. Which puts New York City directly in our path three hours down the road. New York is quite often times problematic as the traffic through this large metro area is noticeable to the traveler. We were hoping to get through with out any problems, as this has not always been the case we were hoping for some good luck. As it turns out early on Sunday Valentines morning is the perfect time to travel, there was almost no one else on the road and we skipped down the New England coast on Route 95 and drove through New York like it was a country road in the west, no traffic at all.
Rain snow and sleet had been predicted all week for the weekend but it had arrived early and we never saw a drop of anything. The hours and miles passed easily. Our destination was Richmond, VA. We had decided to stay in a hotel that first night because the RV was still winterized and we would still be in a colder area. I had some points I could use for a free stay and so I made reservations at a Comfort Inn in Richmond.
We arrived around 4 in the afternoon after a full day of driving only to find a place that we did not want to stay in. It was dirty, and people were not wearing masks and we just thought better of it. Since our plans included a stop in Raleigh, NC the next day we continued down the road for the next 150 miles and figured that we would find another Quality Inn along the way. I plugged in some directions and we had a destination. As we left Richmond we noticed a lot of ice in the trees and many trees down along the roadside, we discovered later that the area was in a state of emergency with their first major ice storm ever! Well when we stopped at the Quality Inn (I should have called) the lady there said "You ain't gonna fine no room up and down this highway for a long ways. We all full. Full with power company crews and people looking for a warm bed, there are thousands of folks without power." Guess we should hav listened to the news. As luck would have it there was a Cracker Barrel right next door and they are always hospitable to RV travelers so se found a good level spot and parked for the night. I ran the furnace and we were warm and cozy in our little traveling home. Harper had a great day with a good walk at each stop. All in all a long day that turned out just fine. Carol made a great supper and we slept pretty well, serenaded by some highway noise and surrounded by power company trucks. The morning came early as there was more traveling to do, so by 7:15 we were walking to the Cracker Barrel for one of their great breakfasts and some hot coffee. They never disappoint. They even filled our travel mugs for free, the start of another fine day.
Since covid started and we have been keeping safe at home, Carol has set up an exercise room, her sanctuary, where she works out every day. The club we belong to (Healthtrax) had pretty much closed down per order of the governor but Healthtrax started doing live online classes. Carol just loves them and averages about 13 or 14 classes per week, every week. Which also means she has a lot of new online friends. One exercise instructor does her class from her local Healthtrax in Raleigh NC and Carol thought it would be a good idea to surprise her on out way south, So when we left the Cracker Barrel the Monday morning we were on a mission. Get to Raleigh and surprise Allie, the instructor Carol have become friends with on line, We arrived in the area a bit early and were able to do a quick bit of shopping for a few things we needed before arriving at Healthtrax. The facility was quite large and very different that the one back home. Carol had some small gifts to give and so I parked in the lot and she set off in search of her 12 noon class.A little over an hour later she came back to the Doodle just beaming. She found the class and surprised her friend and had a wonderful time. I am so happy for her to have had this experience.
When we left Raleigh we were heading for the Carterville Winery in Timmonsville SC. We picked up a couple of sandwiches at a local pizza shop in Raleigh and set off. Carol was a chatterbox and was so pleased that she got to meet her friend in person. Texts flew back and fourth all afternoon and it made me happy to watch the interaction. We arrived at the vineyard just before 5 pm and got checked in and the Doodle set up. We got electricity so used a small space heater instead of the propane, nice, free heat. We had parked in a mud field. It had been raining there for days but there was nothing falling from the sky when we arrived, We went to get a tasting but the wines were all sweet wines so as diplomatically as possible we said 'no thanks' and headed back to our little rolling home. Carol proceeded to kick my butt, twice, playing cribbage. Hurumph! I took Harper for one last walk, being careful not to track too much mud inside. Just as we got back inside the first drops began to fall. By the time we turned in, a steady rain was falling. In another half hour we were in a real storm and lightning was falling all around us. The wind was high as well and for a while I was wondering if we were going to float away...but it calmed down after a while and we got a very good night's sleep. Harper jumped a few time when the lightning was very close but that was the extent of the excitement.
Morning brought sunshine and warmer temps. We pulled back on the highway by about 9:00 am and continued south with the destination of Hanna Park in Jacksonville, Florida. It was sunny and getting warmer with each passing mile. The wind was still there, trying to push the van around, but we traveled without incident. We read the news about tornados and snow and ice storms, and were glad that we didn't see any of that. Fuel prices varied along the road. We burn diesel in the Doodle and the prices ranged from about $2.45 to $3.29 depending where you stop, but it is gonna be what it is gonna be and we rolled on. We arrived at the park around 4 pm after crossing several spectacular bridges and crossed some large estuaries - a beautiful drive. We got checked in, set up camp and hiked around a bit. We sat down by the lake and watched the egrets, herons and pelicans - we are not in New England any more.
Morning came early and we made the best of it. We hiked toward the beach and found a trail with the most different vegetation we had seen in quite a while. I half expected dinosaurs to come popping out of the woods. We hiked from there over to the beach and walked north along the waters edge. Up the beach a large sailboat was laying on its side, high and dry. I hate to see things like this. We chatted with a local who said the boat had been there for three weeks. Apparently the sailor came in on a high moon tide and thought he was in plenty of water and anchored there. And that is where he is today, the tide went out and stuck his keel three feet into the sand. That high of a tide won't be back for a while, so I guess he may have contract some kind of a crane and digger to get back to the sea. What a good example of inattention. When we were cruising in our boat we sat things like this frequently, a good reminder to always double check everything.
From Jacksonville our GPS said it was about four and half hours down to Malabar, our final destination, so we plotted a route with with a few stops along the way to do some last minute shopping and wash the Doodle. We arrived at the RV park at 3:30 that afternoon and our friends Tom and Debbie were there to greet us. We have been here for a couple of days now as I am publishing this, and I gotta say, this is a lot better than snow. We have coffee each morning outside watching the sunrise over the Intracoastal Waterway listen to crows or some other bird, watching pelicans and sometimes a little boat traffic. I rented a car this afternoon so we can go off and explore with a bit less fuss than taking the Doodle. It is so very good to be in one place for a couple of weeks. And with good friends, that is just a bonus.
