Hurricane Kayaks

Hurricane Kayaks

Hurricane Kayaks are amazing. I have known this for years. These are our new 2022 Hurricane Prima 125 Ultra-Light Hurricane Prima 125 kayaks made by Hurricane Aquasports in North Carolina. Everyone knows that we have our kayaks with us everywhere we travel. What some don’t know is that I first started kayaking when I was […]

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Florida Springs

Florida Springs

Northwest of Orlando we went to seven different Florida springs. Florida Springs have crystal clear water that boils up from limestone caverns. In all cases, the water started as rainfall that seeped into the limestone rock formations only to come back to the surface sometimes after spending hundreds of years underground. Crystal Clear Water Water

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Screamin’ Gator Zip Line

Screamin' Gator Zip Line

Is it crazy to combine an alligator farm, amusement park, and a Screamin’ Gator Zip Line into one location? Gatorland has the answer. To the best of my knowledge, zip-lining above pools swarming with alligators is only found at Gatorland. Gatorland has combined wildlife adventures into a gator-themed thrill ride. We are moving north through Florida

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Big (bad) Cypress Swamp

The Big Cypress Swamp has lots of shallow water but unlike the everglades, this water doesn't flow from Lake Okeechobee.

The Big (bad) Cypress Swamp is a very wild place. In most areas not only are you knee-deep in water without any dry land but you are always surrounded by plenty of wildlife. Most of the big wildlife is able to kill you. Some of the small wildlife is also able to kill you (mosquitos

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The middle of the swamp

The sign at the Midway campground in the everglades warns all the campers that alligators are expected in the pond.

We are in the middle of the swamp. It is swamp for at least forty miles in every direction. To the east, everglades. To the west is the Big Cypress Swamp. Beyond the Big Cypress Swamp is a mangrove swamp called Ten Thousand Islands and the Gulf of Mexico. For the next sixty miles to

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Deep in the Everglades

Sunset Deep in the Everglades

It is hard to go deep in the everglades without special equipment. We went deep in the everglades and found it enchanting. The everglades define the largest contiguous wilderness in the country. The one defining characteristic is that it is a shallow freshwater swamp nearly everywhere. Most of the swamp is covered in sawgrass. We

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Beyond Key West

Beyond Key West

The Dry Tortugas National Park is well beyond Key West. To get there, you must go by boat or seaplane. That is the only way to visit. I didn’t know you could go beyond Key West I have wanted to visit Key West since about 1974. My goal was always to drive there. Once there,

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Key West Wildlife

Key West wildlife.

Most visitors have a different view of Key West wildlife than I do. Most people associate Key West wildlife with Key West nightlife. Key West is an amazing vacation location, it also has tremendous sport fishing in every direction. Surprising most people, Key West wildlife is very abundant. No Name Pub It would be an

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Key West Sunsets

Key West Sunsets

Key West sunsets are amazing !!! Sunsets here are a special treat especially after not seeing sunsets for most of this year. It isn’t that the sun didn’t set all year, but nearly every place we went this summer, during our travels around the east coast, we were in trees. Frankly, we missed the sunsets.

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Happy New Year 2022

Happy New Year 2022

Happy New Year. A couple of months ago we hit the four-year mark living in our RV without a fixed location to call home. We have a wonderful home it just has a couple of features that make it unique; namely an engine and big wheels. The adventure has been so fun, even though sometimes

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End of Year Review – 2021

2021 End of Year Review

This is our end-of-year review. Where did we go and what did we do in 2021? (The states we visited in 2021 are above this paragraph next to the date.) What amazing things did we see along the way? In 2021 we added eleven new states to our route map. Other than Louisana we spent

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Old Saint Augustine

Saint Augustine Bishop of Hippo Regius, now in Algeria

Saint Augustine in Florida (named after Saint Augustine, Bishop of Hippo Regius, now in Algeria) claims to be the oldest European settlement in North America. Is it true, or just a marketing ploy? Well, it depends on how you define settlement and on how you define North America. Other cities, now in the United States,

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Historic Forts in Florida

Historic Forts in Florida

The very first place we went after crossing the Georgia/Florida border heading south was to one of the historic forts in Florida. After Columbus, Spain moved fast to capitalize on the opportunity a “New World” presented. The riches in the new world were ripe for the picking according to their thoughts on the subject. Exploiting

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Charleston Charm

The Pineapple Fountain Charleston in Waterfront Park

Charleston has a charm that is unlike every other city we have visited. Nearly every building in Charleston is more than 200 years old. During the 18th century, Charleston was the richest city in the English Colonies. Following the Revolutionary War Charleston, continued to be the richest city in the United States. Charleston’s charm For

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Roanoke and Jamestown

Roanoke and Jamestown

We explored both the historic Roanoke and Jamestown settlement sites while in Virginia and northern North Carolina. These were the locations of the first attempts of England to settle in North America. Roanoke settlement was a complete failure and Jamestown settlement was a huge struggle. The national park service and Virginia both had great exhibits

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Stratford Hall Plantation

Stratford Hall

Stratford Hall Plantation is a Virginia plantation dating to prior to the Revolutionary war. The Lee family built the Stratford Hall Plantation on the south shore of the Potomac River in Virginia. The plantation is to the east of Pope’s Creek. Pope Creek is the birthplace of George Washington. I mentioned Pope Creek Plantation in

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Washington’s Greatest Gift

Washington's Greatest Gift

What was Washington’s greatest gift to our country? While in Virginia we have been visiting locations associated with George Washington. Perhaps more words have been written about George Washington than about any other American. Without his monumental effort, our country wouldn’t exist. His gifts to our country have a lot to do with the birth

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Sweet Shenandoah River

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There are only a few places that I know of that inspire people to write songs. Shenandoah is one of these places. Shenandoah is at the north end of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Unlike most of the Blue Ridge Mountains, the Shenandoah River flows lazily along the valley parallel to the ridgeline. The Shenandoah River

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Coal Mine Life

Working the Coal Mines

For the previous 200 hundred years in West Virginia, coal from the coal mines was the number one resource that everyone wanted. Everyone in every West Virginia town that we have visited worked for the coal mines, even if they were not coal miners. Coal Miner’s Daughter Coal Miner’s Daughter doesn’t describe me but does

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Wampus caterwauling

Wampus caterwauling

Drinkin too much likker causes wampus caterwauling . As we explore western Virginia and West Virginia we are really enjoying it. That doesn’t mean we understand the locals when they talk. It is way different than I expected. The locals call it mountain talk. One local even mentioned the word hillbilly. I will explain more

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Two Virginias

Two Virginias

We have found two Virginias in Virginia. I am not referring to West Virginia and Virginia. Rather, two Virginias inside the state of Virginia. Years ago we visited the Washington D.C. corner of Virginia. That was our first introduction to Virginia. We are now in the other of the two Virginias. Most people divide Virginia

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Crazy Kudzu

Crazy kudzu

Crazy kudzu is everywhere. This is our number one observation over the last month. Crazy kudzu dominates North Carolina and southern Virginia. I first heard of kudzu in the 1960s. It was already a problem, an invasive species intentionally imported from Japan as decoration in 1876. It spread as food for animals and erosion control.

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Campsite Review: Horseshoe Point Campground

Campsite Review Horseshoe Point Campground

Campsite Review: Horseshoe Point Campground is located northwest of Martinsville Virginia. The campground is operated by the Army Corps of Engineers on the east side of Philpott Lake. The nearest city big enough to have the most services is Roanoak, Virginia. Horseshoe Point Campground has easy access and a boat launch on Philpott Lake. There

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Campsite Review: Holly Point Campground

Campsite Review Holly Point Campground

Campsite Review: Holly Point Campground is located north of Raleigh North Carolina. Holly Point Campground Campground is operated by the North Carolina Division of Parks and Recreation system on the north side of Falls Lake Reservoir. The nearest city big enough to have the most services is Raleigh, North Carolina. Holly Point Campground has easy

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Bull Durham

Bull Durham Ball Park

Yesterday we went to see the “Bull” Durham baseball team, play ball with Charolette. The team is a minor league feeder for Tampa Bay Rays in Durham North Carolina. The game was delightful even though the Bulls were not able to put any runs on the scoreboard. After the game, there was an incredible fireworks

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Dog Days of Summer

Dog Days of Summer

What does the dog days of summer have to do with the stars? Everything and nothing. Dog days of summer isn’t a new term. In fact, it is very old but describes July in North Carolina very accurately. We have heat day and night. The dog days actually refer to the stars. Really one single

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Piedmont Blues

Piedmont Blues

Piedmont Blues is an early blues style of music that was founded in the Piedmont region of the east coast between the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Atlantic coastal region. We are currently in the Piedmont Crescent of North Carolina. This is between Charlotte and Raleigh and includes Winston/Salem and Greensboro. Piedmont is a Latin

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Campsite Review: Linville Falls Campground

Campsite Review: Linville Falls Campground

Campsite Review: Linville Falls Campground, Blue Ridge Parkway, is located north of Morgantown and south of Linville, North Carolina. Linville Falls Campground is operated by the National Park Service and is on the Blue Ridge Parkway The nearest city big enough to have most services is Spruce Pine to the west. Linville Falls Campground is

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Amazing Biltmore Palace

Amazing Biltmore Palace

Our visit to Vanderbilt’s Biltmore House really amazes me. It is like a French chateau or maybe a manor house. My name for it is the Amazing Biltmore Palace. With plenty of money to spend and after traveling as a socialite among the rich in Europe, George Vanderbilt started construction on the Biltmore Estate, finishing

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