Texas Loop - April 2023
My first big post retirement journey, I’m slowly heading from South Florida to Texas, stopping wherever the Travato takes me on the way.
On my way towards Texas, my first stop is at Flagler Beach, Florida where I parked the van near the beach and had a great time photographing some shore birds that were enjoying the beautiful day.
The next morning I make my westerly turn on I-10 and visit the Camp Milton Historic Preserve, the first of many Civil War historical locations that I hope to visit on my adventures.
The next stop is about 2 hours further west, and the Florida State Capital in Tallahassee. I was lucky to visit while both the House and Senate were in session which I was able to watch, the first time I’ve witnesses our state government in action. While I’m fully aware of how important our state government is, this is certainly not a job that I would want!
I go from staying in the busy capital city of Tallahassee to the solitude of a primitive camping spot where not a sound can be heard, the Blackwater River State Forest. Instead of staying (and paying) at the state park next door, I use the iOverlander app to find a free camping spot about 1 mile away, on the river.
Another experience of meeting inspiring people on the road, a family of four from France/Switzerland parked next to me in their Class C. They have been travelling the USA, Mexico, and Guatemala for the past nine months in their one year travel journey. We shared some beers, told stories, and enjoyed chatting until the sun had set and it was time to call it another beautiful day.
The next morning, I go to the campground next door to dump my RV tanks and fill up my fresh water tank. After doing this, I’m set for several more days. I then drive less than two hours to the USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park in Mobile, Alabama. This was a very cool experience touring the 1940 built WWII battleship, as well as the submarine USS Drum which was launched in 1941 and destroyed six enemy warships.
I wake up in the Cracker Barrel parking lot in Hattiesburg, Mississippi and head to Planet Fitness for a quick run on the treadmill before heading for the historic downtown area of this beautiful little town.
One of my favorite things to pursue in my travels are quirky little things that are out of the tourist mainstream, like this little back alleyway of art, the Hattiesburg Pocket Museum. If you don’t look closely, you’ll miss the smallest pieces of art in the display.
I start my voyage north towards Shreveport, Louisiana, but can’t resist the temptation to take a side trip to a little Mississippi town called… Hot Coffee, Mississippi.
The community was established at the crossroads of two popular travel routes: the north–south Jackson’s Military Rd, and the east–west Natchez to Fort St. Stephens Wagon Road. An inn was built, and in 1870, L.J. Davis built a store and hung a coffee pot over his door, advertising "the best hot coffee around". His coffee was made from spring water and New Orleans beans, and molasses drippings for sweetener. He never served cream with his coffee, believing it ruined the taste. Local politicians would visit Davis' store and buy coffee for constituents and passing travelers. The popularity of Davis' coffee led to the name of the community
I’m greeted in the little country store by a life-long resident of Hot Coffee who tells me a little about the history of this little town, and how she used to get all of her childhood clothes from the exact store that we were standing in. For a small little country store, it had quite the stock of toilete seats for some reason.
I make it to Fort Worth, Texas and settle in at the Stockyards. The Fort Worth Stockyards celebrates Fort Worth's long tradition as a part of the cattle industry and was listed on the National Register as a historical district in 1976. Twice a day a herd of texas longhorn cattle are walked down the main street, bringing the old west back to life.
I definitely felt like I was brought back to the Wild West at the Stockyards. I spent about an hour walking through the John Wayne museum.
A request from Jerry Lewis asking John Wayne to attend the Muscular Dystrophy annual telethon in 1961.
These bags all contain fan mail that John Wayne received during the last days of his life but was unable to open due to his illness. They haven’t been opened to this day.
I make a visit to the Texas Motor Speedway, one of the most impressive tracks on the Nascar circuit. The highlight was getting to ride a couple of laps around the track in a dressed out Camaro.
Standing in victory lane with the Camaro that I rode around the track in.
Big Hoss, the speedway’s jumbo HD display, at a size of 218ft x 95ft. This makes it the world’s largest sporting venue video board.
I arrive at my cousin’s house in Fort Worth to visit with their family including my 90 year old Aunt Wanda. It was a very enjoyable couple of days spent with family that I haven’t seen in many years. Without the van, this visit likely wouldn’t happen. We enjoyed a wonderful dinner cooked by my cousin’s wife (hot chicken salad!), and the following evening my aunt bought some of the best barbeque I’ve ever had. Texas knows their barbeque.
I depart on Friday morning and begin my turn to the south towards Austin and visit my second state capitol of the trip, this time in Austin, Texas, and the historic Texas capitol building build in 1888. The temperature is around 90 degrees on this day that I tour the capitol building.
After spending a couple of hours at the Capitol building, I continue south to New Braunfels, Texas to visit a friend and coworker who are having a spectacular new house built.
We enjoy a couple of beers at the Muck & Fuss restaurant
We visit Canyon Lake in New Braunfels
And their family dog chills out when we get back to the house.
And the beautiful Guadalupe River, popular for recreation activities like camping, kayaking and tubing.
I then drive around 30 minutes further south to San Antonio and visit The Alamo, location of the 1836 Battle of the Alamo, a pivotal event in the Texas Revolution.
I take a walk on the beautiful Riverwalk in downtown San Antonio.
I really enjoyed seeing the beautiful artwork around the beautiful city.
On Sunday I drive straight through Houston and into the bayou of Louisiana in the little town of Creole, where the van and I first take a ferry ride across the water in the town of Cameron.
I then arrive at Rutherford Beach, an amazing free boondocking spot where I can choose any spot on the beach to park for a couple of nights.
When I wake up around 6AM and hear the soothing ocean waves, I realize how fortunate I am to be experiencing these places around our beautiful country, and it’s overwhelming to realize that the adventures like this are just beginning.
Monday morning view on Rutherford Beach
Oil rig off the shore of Rutherford Beach, Louisiana
Shore birds enjoying the beautiful new day
The sun finally comes out as a few pelicans glide through
This little sandpiper entertained me for several minutes as she wanted to see how close she could get to me.
An amazing variety of shorebirds to photograph on Rutherford Beach on this day.
I don’t believe I’ve ever taken a photo of one of these beautiful birds, the American Avocet.
Hundreds of pelicans around Rutherford Beach today.
After spending two nights relaxing at Rutherford Beach in Louisiana, I make a five hour drive on I-10 and I-12 to Guatier, Mississippi and stay at my first Harvest Host location of the trip. The Hideaway Bar at the Sioux Bayou is a small campground and dive bar with friendly people.
Since food was not served at this bar, I decided to take my bike for a two mile ride to Killer Crab seafood restaurant.
I had my first ever soft shell crab poboy, and it was awesome!
One of the most incredibly decorated Bass Pro Shops that I’ve ever seen
I look for some locak BBQ and luckily found Moe’s Original Bar B Que
That afternoon I only drive about one hour to Mobile Alabama and spend the night in a Bass Pro Shops parking lot.
and experience the very best brisket that I’ve ever had
With a goal the next day of making it to Jacksonville, I make one final stop at Florida Caverns State Park in Marianna, Florida and had luckily stopped just minutes before one of the cave tours being given during the day.
This concluded my first post-retirement adventure, a total of around 3,200 miles to Fort Worth & San Antonio Texas, visited relatives and friends, and experienced several unique locations along the way. The van performed flawlessly throughout the entire trip and it’s time to start planning the next voyage!
Florida Vanlife Gathering - February 2023
An incredible gathering of over 300 vans at the Withlacoochee River Park in Dade City, Florida, sponsored by Vanlife Outfitters
The first annual Florida Vanlife Gathering held at the Withlacoochee River Park in Dade City, Florida was totally awesome, with well over 300 vans gathered together for a weekend of fun.
Withlacoochee River Park in Dade City Florida proved to be a perfect location for this large gathering of vans, with extra room for plans to expand to over 500 vans next year at Vantopia 2024!
It was such a new and exciting experience witnessing such a large gathering of like-minded people, sharing their van designs and ideas with each other.
We toured some amazing DIY van designs including this one with a beautiful wood cabin feel.
Despite the cool weather, each evening consisted of a gathering of folks around Frisco T’s Coachman van, enjoying a wide selection of refreshments while we shared van and travel stories.
A very well attended Urban Camping seminar by Scott from Go Small Live Large, presenting his unique ideas on the subject of camping on city streets.
Daytona Beach & Vero Beach - Dec 2022
This 3 day adventure brought me to Daytona Beach to watch a cousin play in a college basketball tournament, followed by a stop by to visit my sister and brother-in-law in Vero Beach for a wonderful dinner and morning boat ride.
This 3 day adventure brought me to Daytona Beach to watch a cousin play in a college basketball tournament, followed by a stop by to visit my sister and brother-in-law in Vero Beach for a wonderful dinner and morning boat ride.
Gulf Coast - December 2022
I take a one week adventure around Lake Pontchartrain in Louisiana and the Gulf Coast, visiting several Harvest Host locations and my first visit to New Orleans.
This adventure takes me in the direction of New Orleans, Louisiana. I plan to visit many interesting places and stay at several fun Harvest Host spots along the way during a loop around Lake Pontchartrain.
Day 1 : My first day is dedicated to getting me to the Panhandle of Florida, around nine hours of driving up the East Coast of Florida before hitting Interstate 10 west.
I arrive at my first Harvest Host location, Southern Grace Lavender Farm in Southport, Florida, around 4:30 in the Central time zone. I’m greeted by the owners of the property who direct me to my boondocking spot for the evening. I visit their little lavender shop, where they have many lavender based products like soaps and candles. The smell is a bit overwhelming with so much lavender in a little space. This Harvest Host location is the most accommodating Harvest Host that I’ve visited with full hook up sites available if needed, water, dumpster, etc. And the owners provide free fresh eggs in the morning from their chickens on the property. And how often do you get to see a pig give a dog a back massage?
Day 2 takes me further west to the very touristy spot of Panama City Beach, where I find a parking spot next to the beach and take a walk through the shops and restaurants.
And then I move into the unique little town of Seaside, known for being the primary filming location of The Truman Show movie. The little town reminds me so much of the movie, each home having its own white picket fence, carefully manicured yard, and will within the color scheme of the town. I took a photo of the home known as the Truman house from the movie.
Driving to my Harvest Host location for the night, I drive throught the Gulf Islands National Seashore on a chilly, windy night.
and I enjoy some great barbeque from Grover T’s BBQ where I stayed for the night in their quiet parking lot. Gotta love Harvest Hosts!
Day 3 brings me to Biloxi, Mississippi and Beauvoir, the Jefferson Davis Home and Presidential Library. This historic area took a severe hit from Hurricane Katrina in 2005, but has been incredibly restored so that the public can enjoy this area.
Photo from 2005 after Hurrican Katrina and its 20 foot storm surge.
In the evening, I end up being parked directly in the path of an F1 tornado which came on shore in Biloxi and did some tree and sign damage in the area. Quite a tense few seconds as the two RVs parked next to me both sustained some damage. Here is a video I took just a few moments before the tornado passed through.
The next morning provides some beautiful scenes.
Day 4 : I make my way into Louisiana and enjoy a quick lunch at an awesome little small town diner, enjoying a shrimp Po-Boy.
I arrive at my next Harvest Host stop, John Schneider’s place (Bo, from Duke’s of Hazard), who owns around 50 acres on which he has created John Schneider Studios for the production of several independent films. I was fortunate enough to meet John as he was preparing DVD’s for mailing from his latest movie, To Die For.
Day 5 : I visit the Houmas House Plantation in Darrow, Louisiana. This is a historic home built in 1829 on the Mississippi River.
Day 6 : I arrive in the historic city of New Orleans and spend the day taking in the sights, sounds, and tastes.
After a week of new experiences, I spend two days heading back towards South Florida and put another adventure in the books!
Inverness, Florida - September 2022
My first visit to the Citrus County Speedway, and my first time using a Boondockers Welcome location.
This 4 day adventure took me through Sebring, including a visit to one of my favorite state parks, Highland Hammock, and ended at my first visit to Citrus County Speedway where I enjoyed some of the best short track racing I’ve experienced in the state of Florida. I enjoyed some great Harvest Host locations, and stayed at my first Boondockers Welcome spot. Here are some of the highlights of the trip.
On Thursday afternoon, I make a stop at Highland Hammock State Park for a bike ride and before I even get into the park several deer are hanging out on the side of the road.
And my bike ride was halted for a few minutes so I could spend some time with this beautiful deer that had little fear as I took some photos and video.
First Night’s Stay at a Harvest Host called Turn Two Brewery in Sebring. I started with a flight of four beers and ended up liking the chocolate stout the most, so added a couple of those to the end of the day. The food truck of the day was Chubby Wubbys Hot Dog Emporium, so I sampled ‘The Coney’, with chili, cheese, onions, heartburn, etc.
During my visit inside the brewery, I had a wonderful chat with a retired couple who lived in the nearby Tanglewood community. We talked RVs since they had previously lived in the RV capital of the world, Elkhart, Indiana, and I described the Harvest Host program to them. The gentleman had been a truck driver across our country so he had some fun stories to tell. I am enjoying meeting people like this who are willing to share some stories of their lives with me.
I depart the next morning with a final destination of another Harvest Host location, but make a couple of stops along the way. First, I go for a hike at the Crooked Lake Wildlife and Environmental Area in Fort Meade. I spotted a few young wild boar crossing my path during this hike, and captured this short video.
And then a short walk through Patterson Park, also in Fort Meade.
I then continue north for about an hour towards Plant City, where I spend the night at my second Harvest Host of the trip, Roos and Coos Farm. This is a wonderful little animal sanctuary for several animals, run by a mother/daughter team who are very dedicated to their little creatures.
To continue the adventure north, I head out the next morning after breakfast and make a stop in Dade City at the Pioneer Florida Museum & Village. I was surprised to discover that this museum had recently become a Harvest Host location, so I’ll likely be back to this location for a night’s stay in the future. For this trip I spent a couple of hours walking through the multiple buildings that hold some artifacts from the past that gave me a feel for how life was back in the 1800’s, including some Civil War artifacts.
I continue the final leg of my journey towards Inverness where I check in to my first Boondockers Welcome host location, and get settled in before departing for a night full of hometown racing at Citrus County Speedway, which had a night full of action from 6PM to 11PM.
Daytona Speedway - August 2022
Camped right outside the Daytona International Speedway for the annual summer race. My first NASCAR race with the van.
Made a quick decision to grab some camping and race tickets to the Coke Zero 400 weekend in Daytona. This will be my first RV experience at a Nascar track.
My van is parked next to a fence where all the Nascar team haulers drive by to go through the tunnel to the infield. Very cool to see.
Saturday, August 27, 2022
The big race is supposed to happen tonite at 7PM, but the weather in Daytona isn’t going to let that happen. If there is a race today, it’s going to be late like last night’s race. But it’s experiences like this that remind me how wonderful it is to have my van. There were thousands of people that had driven here today to take in the race, spend the day at the midway, and enjoy their day. What can they do now?
I’m spending the day in the air conditioning, napping, cooking meals, working on the computer… I can wait as long as it takes. If they cancel until tomorrow, no problem, I’ll be here.
While the weather outside is horrible.
I just relax in the van, enjoying all the comforts of home!
Memorial Weekend - May 2022
A few days away to one of my favorite free Florida campgrounds, Hickory Hammock in Lorida, Florida.
With the RV still waiting for much needed repairs on the power steering (long story), I decided to take her out anyways for a few days over the long weekend. The stays included Cracker-docking, Harvest-hosting, and Free camping at Hickory Hammock Campground.
Istokpoga Canal Campground
Finishing out another memorable outing over the last several days in central Florida, first to Coleman Landing which I had previously visited, and then to a free SFWMD campground, Istokpoga, which I had never been to before. This one turned out to be a pleasant surprise as it offers several campsites nestled among the pine trees with a very enjoyable hiking trail in the Hickory Hammock Wildlife Management Area.
The intent was to make the two hour drive home today, but high winds have made us (Courage & me) delay that trip until the winds subside, which might mean tomorrow.
Biking on the trail this morning before the high winds began was great, spotting a couple of hawks along the way.
Pine Glades Natural Area - Dec 2021
After several days of no outdoor adventures, I drove north to Jupiter Florida and found this wonderful little county natural area.
This visit included one of the largest alligators that I’ve seen in a very long time.
Cedar Key - November 2021
Cedar Key is way outside of the busy part of Florida, with an older Florida Keys vibe, and great seafood !
This was a pre-Thanksgiving adventure to Cedar Key, Florida, with a one day stop at Sanibel. My first visit to Cedar Key and I really enjoyed the history, charm, and vibe of this little town with a population of less than 1,000 people.
One of the few locations I’ve been to where spectacular sunrises AND sunsets can be viewed.
Island Hotel - Built in 1859
Tiki Bar Behind Low Key Hideaway
Summer Crush Winery - October 2021
A second visit by my sister and me to a wonderful Harvest Host location, Summer Crush Winery in Ft. Pierce, Florida. This weekend included entertainment by Elton John and Jimmy Buffet Tribute bands, including a special visit by Elvis! We had wonderful weather with no air conditioning required!
Sanibel Island - October 2021
One of my favorite locations in Florida, Sanibel Island. On this trip, the highlight wasn’t the beautiful scenery, but instead another instance of meeting incredible people during my travels.
Another chilled weekend hanging out at one of my favorite water spots in Florida, the Causeway Island Park in Sanibel, Florida. The highlight of this trip was meeting a wonderful couple who recently purchased a beautiful 2020 Travato GL National Park Edition. With no experience with the RV, I spend a few hours showing them how to use the various systems on the RV before they hit the road. They graciously offered a parking spot for the night on their beautiful property right on Sanibel Island, saving me a 15 mile trip to find a place to stay for the night. They also made me a wonderful breakfast before we finished a few steps testing out their new RV. This is a perfect example of why I love the van lifestyle; meeting great people like these ones!
Gainesville - October 2021
Another enjoyable trip to Gainesville to visit the son who is finishing his final year at the University of Florida. I took advantage of a good ticket price in the upper level of the Swamp to attend a football game against Vanderbilt during this homecoming weekend at UF. I love this school.
As usual, the Travato works flawlessly as I spend the nights in the Bass Pro Shops parking lot, saving hundreds of dollars in hotel costs, don’t have to rush out to meet a check-out policy, make myself an awesome breakfast, and spend the morning relaxing while I wait for the kid to eventually wake up for our Sunday time together! This was a great weekend, and I even visited one of my old hangouts when I went to school here some 30 years ago!
Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge - October 2021
Another enjoyable few hours spent at my home base spot on this beautiful Sunday. The weather was great as we begin to get just a hint of fall heading our way here is South Florida.
One of the highlights of this day was meeting a wonderful couple that had just purchased their new Winnebago Revel about eight days ago, and were taking her out for one of their first trips. They haven’t even spent a night in the van yet, and I could tell that they were so excited to begin exploring the country with their new toy. I was so happy for them and glad to have been able to meet them.
A couple of Sandhill Cranes decide to get in the way as I try to take some photos of the Winnebago Revel.
And a couple of photos captured during the day…
Great Blue Heron after a nice catch
Black Hooded Parakeets
DuPuis Management Area - September 2021
My third excursion to this Wildlife Management Area, this trip with the family pup, Courage. He seems to enjoy going camping in the van. One of his favorite things to do is sit on the bed and just stare out the window looking for any activity within his view.
Getting memorable wildlife photos were not a high priority on this trip, but this area always provides some wonderful sunset images. There were only about 3 other campers in the campground this particular weekend as the September Florida heat keeps many away, especially without electricity provided at each campsite, but the Travato lithium system kept us comfortable the whole weekend.
Dozens of turkey vultures seem to make this area around our campsite home during the daylight hours, and they seem to fly away to other locations at night. Quite a sight to behold, nature always seems to provide me something new that I haven’t experienced before.
Palm Beach Raceway - September 2021
Without any travel plans this weekend, I decided to head to the Palm Beach Raceway which was hosting the Champ Endurance Series today, a multi-day, multi-hour racing series designed for amateur racers to race on road courses across the country. I drove the van to the top of a small viewing hill near the exit of the pits, not knowing if I’d be able to stay here or not. Couldn’t ask for a better view of the race track from the van. On this hot summer Florida day, it was nice to sit in the air conditioning of the van and watch some live racing while watching football on TV. This day reminds me of the versatility that the Travato provides me on my adventures.
Long Point - September 2021
Another weekend spent at one of my favorite campgrounds in Florida, Long Point Park in Melbourne Beach, Florida. One of the memories from this trip will be almost getting tipped over in my kayak… by a manatee! I went out for an early morning kayak trip and saw a manatee surface for air about 50 feet ahead of me. I slowly drifted in the direction of the manatee, and suddenly I felt the kayak begin to lift up, tilt to the side, and come very close to tipping over. The splash that the manatee made once it was startled by my kayak being on top of it was so great that everything in the kayak was soaked, including me and my camera. As of right now, my camera is not working.
Coleman Landing at Shady Oaks - September 2021
I spent a couple days over the Labor Day weekend at this Polk County park. What a pleasant surprise this little 54 spot campground was. Right on Lake Kissimmee, I was able to walk my kayak for a couple of wonderful morning kayak trips on the lake.
At this park, you find an available spot that you want and take it. At some point, a friendly gentleman will stop by on his golf cart and take your payment, $20 per night. Not a bad deal for having electric and water at each site.
I head out with the kayak at sunrise to witness an incredible scene.
While kayaking just south of Brahma Island on Lake Kissimmee on Sunday morning, I was fortunate to spot three bald eagles circling high above the kayak. Once they came lower to begin their morning fishing, I was able to snap a few photos from the kayak.
but I missed the opportunity for the perfect shot of the eagle grabbing a fish from the water. That shot remains in my future for now.
I spot this Kingfisher sitting on a pole before he took a quick dive into the water for his morning meal.
The old Spanish Moss trees all over this campground are a beautiful thing to witness.
Maine - August 2021
By far the longest trip with the van. What an awesome trip with the sister, bro-in-law, Zo & Bindi visiting family members that we haven’t seen in many years.
In the Summer of 2021, we drove the van from South Florida to Northern Maine. We visited relatives that we hadn’t seen in years, and spread our Dad’s ashes in some of the special locations that meant a lot to him. It was a trip that we’ll always remember. The beautiful state of Maine is still in our hearts.
DuPuis Wildlife Management - April 2021
The DuPuis Management area is a 21,875 acre natural area in northwestern Palm Beach and southwestern Martin Counties, Florida. Archaeological sites of early American Indians date to 500 B.C. Much later, the Seminole Indians used the Dupuis region as a refuge during the Seminole War of 1835, but living on the land proved difficult. Hundreds of starving Indians were captured and sent to Oklahoma. The area became known as “The Hungryland”.
The highlight of the trip was bringing the family pup, Courage, on this trip with me. Courage LOVES the van and we had a very enjoyable few days away from the urban areas.
A few of my favorite photos taken during a hike through the natural area.
