Hello and welcome to Mike and Donna's retirement adventures.
After many years of working and taking care of family, we decided to look for adventures in other places.
Donna's retirement came at the request of her former manager (little Hitler) on 9/27/21 after 18 years with the IT vendor at the San Diego Convention Center. Mikes retirement began 46 years to the day, after high school on 3/18/22.
We have always liked cars and driving; we love to travel. We decided life on the road could be a new challenge/adventure for us.
In August (2021) we ordered a new home: An Airstream 30' Classic and a new Dodge RAM 2500 Diesel truck to tow it.
On Friday December 2, 2022, we finally took possession of it.
Have fun following us down the road.
February 12 - 16 Spanish Fort, Alabama (near Mobile)
Meaher State Park
Que up Lynyrd Skynyrd – “Sweet Home Alabama “ – okay good – now it’s in your head –
LOL!!
With recommendations to camp here, well….here we are….surrounded by bays, wetlands, marshes, bridges, bayous, rivers, barrier islands, birds of all kinds, and…..alligators!!! Yep – we FINALLY saw alligators in the wild – LOL!!!
It’s a beautiful state park with a beautiful setting and gorgeous sunsets!!
We stepped back in time when we visited the USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park.
Within the park along with the USS Alabama is the USS Drum, a submarine also from the WWII era. A job well done with this park as there are over 30 historic planes, military vehicles, and several memorials outside. Including a Bald Eagle sitting on the yard arm of the Battleship.
A day trip to the gulf coast of Alabama through Gulf State Park to Orange Beach (Gulf of Mexico) didn’t disappoint. Such white – I mean really blinding white sand. The route we took – took us through a bunch of really nice towns – Daphne (the closest to our campground), Fairhope, and Foley (a bit inland).
A stop in Foley on the way to Orange Beach was important to Mike as he had discovered that the Bridge Bell from one of the ships he was stationed on while in the Navy – the USS Peterson – had been dedicated to the town and was in front of the town hall office. After asking someone at the Welcome Center, we finally found it – Yayyy!!!!
A fun and THE most interesting thing we’ve ever seen on our travels was in a little town called Elberta – at Barbers Marina. Off we go to find the “Lady in the Lake” (also called Lady in the Bay). She kinda speaks for herself – LOL!! She’s made of fiberglass and there are many interesting facts if you google it.
On our way back from Lady in the Lake, we stopped at a place called Lamberts Café in Foley for Linner (lunch/dinner). It came highly recommended, and it’s known as the home of “Throwed Rolls”. Good down-home cooking with HUGE portions and yep – they actually throw a fresh baked – HUGE roll at you – when you raise your hand – LOL!!! The walls are covered with – well – you name it – license plates, flags, stickers, etc. Your drink is served in the BIGGEST thing we’ve ever seen……..no need for a refill LOL……..
We met several camper kitties at the park. One and his owner sat with us to watch the sun set one night. The other was a few sites down from us (another Airstream) and she was just gorgeous…..
February 7 - 12 Milton, Florida (just outside of Pensacola)
Avalon Landing RV Park
Wouldn’t ya know – that (according to the news) the Panhandle of Florida is having its “cloudiest” winter in 80 years!!! We just can’t catch a break with this coolish, gloomy, rainy, sprinkling weather – geez louise……off and on….off and on…..we’ve dodged the rain to explore the area.
Have you ever driven through Texas? Have you ever heard that Texas takes a couple of days to drive through and depending on what route you take, there is NOTHING to see??? THAT….is the Panhandle of Florida – LOL!!! From Tallahassee to Pensacola…booorrrriiinnnggg!!!
The RV Park we landed at was super nice. Nice wide/long sites – easy in and out. We like that – LOL!!! We spotted another Airstream across the private canal within the park and did the neighborly thing and stopped by to say Hey.
The day after we arrived, the weather was iffy. We took off for Navarre and Pensacola Beach to explore anyway. Driving through the Gulf Islands National Seashore, we had flashbacks of being in the Outer Banks (OBX). The similarities were stunning. Sand dunes, sea grass, and white pristine beaches!! The sun poked in and out all day but sunny enough to take a walk on the beach to look for treasures…..Lunch at a local recommended place was in order and it was yummy!! We saw lots of funky houses amongst the usual beach houses on stilts by the ocean.
Fort Pickens is at the very tip of the small barrier island, so with fully tummies, off we went to explore the Fort. In 1816, the US began constructing Third System forts along its coastline to protect important waterways and seaports. Five years later, the government began fortifying areas along Florida’s 3500 mile seaboard. Pensacola Bay was one such area.
If you’ve never been to the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, it’s a must see. We’ve been to 100’s of museums of all kinds, and this one without a doubt is THE best and it’s free!!!
We had lunch at the Cubi Bar Café – a very special place in Donna’s heart. It’s a fully built replica of the bar that was at the NAS Cubi Point Officers Club (located at the edge of Naval Base Subic Bay) in the Philippines when she lived there. The base closed in 1992. The vast collection of squadron memorabilia displayed in the Cubi Point Officers’ Club was shipped to the museum and now forms the décor of the Café, which opened in 1996 as the museum’s restaurant.
Donna’s Dad, RAdm. Doniphan Shelton, throughout his career, was a consistent contributor to the museum. We found 2 plaques displaying his name.
And let’s not forget yet another Lighthouse – love them – Pensacola Lighthouse is no exception. Keep that light shining!!!
Marti Gras you say??? We’ve never been to a REAL Marti Gras parade or celebration. Guess what? Pensacola celebrates it big time!!! Even in the rain……………….we had SO MANY beads, we could hardly carry them – oh and they throw out Moon Pies too – who knew??? And…they are Donna’s favorite snack – LOL!!
Dodging raindrops once again, we took one last drive to the Gulf Islands National Seashore to walk the almost empty beaches to look for treasures.
Except for the crappy weather – again – Florida – what is up with this yucky weather???? – We had a great time…….
February 5 - 7 Tallahassee, Florida
Coe Landing City Park
Not much to write about except it was a 2 night stay on the way to our next destination. Small Park off the beaten path with only 20 sites but right on Ochlockonee River near the Apalachicola National Forest. We laid low to get some “adulting” done like getting supplies and paperwork finished. We had a nice site right on the water but again, what is up with this chilly and windy weather in Florida? LOL!!
February 1 - 5 St. Augustine, Florida
North Beach Camp Resort
And here we come – down the A1A. We can see it, smell it, feel it!! A place we’ve never been before!
We tried like heck to get reservations on Anastasia Island State Park (a VERY popular place) but we rendered it impossible unless you are a Florida state resident, or you make your reservations WAY WAY WAY in advance. So, we think we found the next best place – where we’re staying!!!
A beautiful campground directly across the street from….guess where…..the Atlantic Ocean!! Great sites…we loved it…..the beach was pristine and virtually empty. It was a bit on the chilly side. What’s up with that? Its Florida folks – it’s supposed to be WARM!!!!!
When friends move away from where you used to live (in CA) and you happen to plan your trip to visit them, that’s what it’s all about! Fun with friends!!! Kristen Cohen – some of you reading this may remember her and her hubby Andy (who sadly passed away from cancer – they owned Crap Industries and many other things) now lives in St. Augustine. We had such a great time. We had a home cooked meal the night we arrived (mmmm good). The next day we toured the historic district of St. Augustine via the local Trolley (hop on, hop off). We had lunch at the St. Augustine Distillery (yummy) and took part in the FREE tasting. We walked out with a nice goodie bag…….
The next day Kristen played in a golf tournament, so we played tourist for the day and met her that evening for another yummy dinner at a place right on the water across the street from the campground. We could get REALLY used to this – LOL!!
We visited the Castillo de San Marcos National Monument and saw them fire a cannon (which they do several times a day), saw the Lions Bridge (famous drawbridge there), had lunch overlooking the Intercoastal Waterway, walked the famous “St. Georges” street shopping district, walked along the waterway, and finished up with the St. Augustine Lighthouse. We were SO excited to see a sea turtle!
All in all, a great stay…..
January 22 – February 1 Savannah, Georgia
Skidaway Island State Park
What do you think of when you think of Georgia? Atlanta? Savannah? Augusta? Columbus? Florence (Buc-ee's)? Did you know that the coast of Georgia has hundreds of miles of barrier islands?
We are continually drawn to these sandy areas of nature. They aren’t quite hidden gems anymore as over the years, many traveling peeps like us, have discovered these gorgeous areas.
We landed at Skidaway Island State Park for 10 glorious days, amongst the tropical foliage and majestic oak trees draped with Spanish moss (air plants). The weather was a bit coolish and it rained a couple days. Enough so that the eerie fog rolled in amongst the jungle….We had many critter visitors too……
Great hiking trails around the park. We saw lots of wildlife and “signs” of wildlife. What’s called Alligator Holes was quite evident in many areas. Embedded deep into the woods, were the remnants of moonshine still. Pretty cool!!! Towards the end of our hike, we had a close encounter with a beautiful Egret.
Savannah has all of the charm you would expect from the south. River Street, along Savannah’s historic waterfront, is the best place in town to walk the cobblestone streets, grab a bite to eat, and stroll along the water to watch the ships come and go. Parking is uh….tight….but we managed to get Journey into a spot – whew!!!
With so much history in the city and many memorial statues, we had no trouble getting our steps in while we perused the many blocks and streets, in awe of the remarkable architecture before our eyes!!!
Fort Pulaski National Monument is located on Cockspur Island between Savannah and Tybee Island. This is where the Union Army successfully tested rifled cannons in combat during the Civil war in 1862. It was also used as a prisoner-of-war camp.
Tybee Island (a barrier island) was a short drive from Fort Pulaski. It’s a quirky and colorful beach town, where coastal charm meets laid-back beach vibes. It’s a 3 square mile enclave jam-packed with local shopping, dining, bike trails, restaurants, lodging, and best of all, white sand beaches!! A great day trip….
Jekyll Island (a barrier island) about 90 miles south of Skidaway, was another great day trip to a truly hidden gem. Lunch was in order and we found just the place – overlooking the beautiful Atlantic Ocean. With full tummies, we headed to Driftwood Beach, ranked #3 in the US as a traveler’s beach. A prime example of “Ghost Forests” – a type of forest erosion caused by rising sea levels. Hundreds of massive dead oaks bleached by the sun, wind, and tide. What a spectacular scene of sand and surf!!!!!
A cotton and indigo plantation was established by The DuBignon’s. In 1886 until 1947 the grounds were developed in a resort – The Jekyll Island Club. Tycoons of New York City wintered in the upscale environment. Once reserved for families such as the Goodyear’s, Pulitzers, Rockefellers, and Vanderbilt’s and such, the aftermath of The Great Depression made it so all can enjoy!
The Jekyll Island Club Resort receives financial support from Georgia State Parks and the Jekyll Island Authority, in order to maintain the historic “Millionaire’s Village”. The restored island homes are charmingly furnished with what they should look like.
As the sun started to sink, we drove to the opposite end of the island to walk the virtually deserted beach. We were in our glory – within 5 minutes we had found our 1st sand dollar. The hunt was on!!!!!
It was almost dark as we made our way back to the parking lot. Wait!! What was that? Is that an Armadillo? Do they have Armadillo’s in Georgia? Well I’ll be – they sure do. Who knew? Oh and let’s not forget all of the deer was saw too!!
Good times…………and we’ll be back!!!
January 19 - 22 Cottageville, South Carolina (near Charleston)
Tiny Town RV Campground
The Sandman and Journey both looked pretty grimy after leaving Northern Virginia in the snow. We tried our luck for the second time to hang with the big boys at a Blue Beacon Truck Wash. Wow! What a difference…..after waiting for an hour, we were shinny and heading south again.
And the name sure does fit the place – LOL!! Not a huge place but many permanent residents. The neighbors we met were super nice and the place was as clean as a whistle.
Meet “Dirty Snowball”!! He’s the local campground cat. Awww poor kitty – it’s so COLD outside and he has no home……our neighbor feeds him and the cutest thing ever is when she takes her dog for a walk, Dirty Snowball goes along too!!! She’s been living here for a year and is trying to find a home for him. He’s a bit skittish and doesn’t want to go inside.
Can we just say that this winter camping is for the birds??? It’s still damn COLD…..
We had lunch with a friend of ours that Donna knew from her days stationed in Subic Bay in the Philippines – Lisa Gage Patrick and hubby Randall. This is the second time we’ve gotten to see them on our travels in the area. What fun catching up again!!!
Being we were SO close to Charleston again, we decided to venture out – bundled up – to explore the beautiful city. We had lunch at a neat Pub, walked through the City Marketplace, visited the Waterfront Pineapple Fountain, Rainbow Row, and called it a day.
Can we say again, this COLD weather sucks????
Still heading for warmer weather…………..stand by……………
January 17 – 19 Hope Mills, North Carolina (near Ft. Liberty – previously known as Ft. Bragg)
Spring Valley RV Campground
We try to be off the beaten path when we can. When making reservations last year, we found this cute, 3 generation owned, family campground. The drive was off the main freeways, meandering through the back country of North Carolina. Thankfully a non-eventful drive!!!
Being as it was again, very COLD, we ventured out only once to get diesel and supplies.
The owner of the campground was the sweetest, southern lady we’ve ever met. We chatted several times and got the scoop about all the local goings on.
Not much exciting about this leg of our adventures……we hunkered down inside…..
January 15 - 17 Keeling, Virginia (Southern VA)
Paradise Lake Campground
Well……it’s go time for our 2024 adventures. The sky gods decided to make our travel day as stressful as possible. We woke up to overnight snow. Rut Row!!! Do we go or do we stay??? The long range weather forecast ain’t looking too pretty folks!!! We debated and decided to “go for it” as the longer we stayed in Northern Virginia, multiple storms were headed that way.
Seven hours (normally about 4 1/2) later we reached our destination in Keeling. It was a LONG white knuckle day of driving in pretty crappy weather. The snow squalls kept getting bigger….and bigger….and started to stick. Well, Journey does have 4 wheel drive………whew!!! We arrived as it was getting dark which is one of the things we’ve said we would never do – set up in the dark. We had no choice. It was frickin COLD……….I mean COLD and we were happy The Sandman was cooperating and all systems were working perfectly – Yayyy!! We had food, drink, and heat…..what else could we ask for???? Maybe some much WARMER weather – LOL!! Heading that way (south) but gotta get through some of this mess first.
All these folks that love camping in the winter – forget it – 10 degrees is not what we call fun weather –LOL!!
December 14 – January 15, 2024 – Northern Virginia
Christmas holidays in Northern Virginia
After a short stop at Airstream of Virginia to get a running light and speaker fixed, we’ve landed!! We’re SO excited to be here visiting with the kids and grands over the holidays. Dude and NeNe are here to terrorize the family for a month – LOL!!!!
The Sandman is getting a nice break, being stored at our son in-laws Mothers driveway.
We split up our time between our son’s house and our daughter’s house. Both families have been so accommodating and we’ve missed our family so very much.
On Saturday Dec. 16th, as a family, we participated in “Wreaths across America” at Arlington National Cemetery. We got up at the crack of dawn to ride the subway to Arlington. As we got off the subway, we were overwhelmed with the 1000’s of people there. Wowzer! It was SUCH a humbling experience – no words could ever express how we all felt. We were proud as can be, to place wreaths, including visiting Donna’s Dad and putting a special bow on his wreath. We were happy to see that his headstone had finally been made and put in place.
Something on our bucket list was to see the National Christmas Tree. It had been MANY years since we had been to DC to see it. The whole family bundled up and off we went to enjoy the sights and sounds of Christmas in our Nation’s Capital…burrrrr, we’re not used to this COLD weather – LOL!!!
Have you ever been to the Changing of the Guard at Arlington? If not, it should be on your bucket list. There is simply nothing like it that we’ve ever experienced. Words cannot express how moving it is. Although we’ve been there many times to watch, our oldest grandson had not. It was something he wanted to experience, so on a cold winter day; we headed back down to ANC to partake……
We got to experience Christmas with our son’s family which included our two littlest grands. They still “believe” in Santa so it was quite the crazy morning LOL!! Later on, our daughter and her family arrived for a wonderful, yummy brunch. They had plans later in the day with her husband’s family for Christmas dinner. Holidays are so special… the kitchen was filled with wonderful smells while we waited for our dinner to unfold. We ate……and ate more……whew it was good……
The day after Christmas, we transitioned to our daughter’s house for the rest of our stay.
Being as we were in the area for a while, we had to do some “adulting” daw gone it. We were able to schedule ahead of time, doctor/dentist/eye/truck maintenance appointments – got all clear!! We also got together with longtime friends and swapped stories for hours at a time.
We are VERY lucky to have the family that we do. We all got together many times for games, lunches, dinners, drinking, and all the laughter/story telling that goes along with being together. We love our kids and grands “to the moon and back”. They are truly the…………best……we……could…..ever……ask……for.
Alas it’s time to go……………but we’ll be back!!! With tears in our eyes, off we go…….
December 13 - 14 Chesterfield, Virginia (outside of Richmond)
Pocahontas State Park
We made another quick overnight stop while making our way to Northern Virginia. This was our 2nd time here and we just love it!!
We had dinner with our daughter in-law’s parents which was a nice treat. Home cooked meals – well what can we say – Yummy!!! This is another place we’ll definitely be back to….
Our frosted picnic table with wild animal footprints.
December 12 - 13 Seven Springs, North Carolina
Cliffs of the Neuse State Park
We made a quick overnight while making our way to Northern Virginia. Many peeps we follow for camping area suggestions highly recommended this park. We didn’t explore much, but what we saw was beautiful. Not a big park but the sites are long and huge – easy in and out. We’ll be back when the weather is a bit warmer – LOL!!
There was only one other camper in the park – it was a bit creepy overnight as it was dark….really dark and we could hear animals in the woods “talking”. The camp hosts were very nice and the Rangers very informative.
November 2 – December 12 Supply, North Carolina
Holden Beach RV Park and Campground
Maybe this place sounds familiar from an earlier blog post? Well, you’re not double reading – LOL! This is our second time here and it really is a hidden gem!!! Since we wanted to stay a bit south for a while – instead of touring any more for now, we thought “why not plop ourselves right here for 6 weeks".
We were originally here in August for a week.
What a dang charming beach town. Close to many other beach towns and sightseeing places.
One of our daily adventures was to take a ferry from Southport to Ft. Fisher then on to the Wrightsville Beach area. What fun to see all of the barrier islands along the way!!
We took full advantage of the beach whenever we could. Although being November/December, it wasn’t as warm as summer but it wasn’t bad. The weather was pretty good with the exception of a couple days of rain. We kept a close eye on the low/high tides to do some shell collecting…..collecting….the key word….more like hoarding – LOL!!! And…..we got in a minimum of 10,000 steps each walk we did on the beach…..
Turns out, April of 2022, off the coast, they did some major dredging and dug up a fossil bed. In that bed are millions of estimated 30,000 million year old sea biscuits. Man oh man – talk about an Easter egg hunt or scavenger hunt!! Once we found a few – and a few more – and more – it was like finding sand dollars on the beach in Oceanside where we used to live. We did find some other shells and a few sharks teeth. We cleaned them all up, boxed them up for storage, and will have a nice place to stay in our daughter’s basement for a while – LOL!!!
The sunrises and sunsets were absolutely gorgeous…………..We toured the beach towns up and down the coast, within about an hour’s drive – Ocean Isle, Sunset Beach, Murrells Inlet, Myrtle Beach, Oak Island, Southport, Wrightsville Beach, and Wilmington. While in Wilmington, we toured the USS North Carolina museum. Neato!!!
Thanksgiving, we drove about 3 hours back to the Wake Forest/Raleigh area to spend the holiday with Mike’s sister and family. Had some really yummy food, played some games, and took a few good walks in the area.
We discovered, 3 couples we knew from the Northern Virginia area when we lived in Leesburg, that all moved to South Carolina – not very far from our campground. We got together will all of them for lunch. Matt and Karen Partlow, Mike and Patti Barry, and Hugh and Sarah Brackett. Mike was in the Brackett’s wedding. He was the photographer for the Partlow’s wedding. Mike and Patti were our neighbors at our very first house in Leesburg, VA.
It was our 3rd time getting together with another couple that we’ve been friends with from Northern Virginia, Jim and Lyn Markham was fun. We had lunch and a few weeks later we joined Lyn (Jim was sick) and her friend at “Night of 1000 Candles” at Brookgreen Gardens in Murrells Inlet, SC. What a fantastic place and the grounds/statues were just gorgeous. Just what we needed, to get in the Christmas spirit……
As the Christmas holiday got closer, we found many beach decorations throughout the area.
All in all – a great time!!! We’re sad to leave but happy at the same time. We’re on our way to spend a month over the holidays with our kids and grands!!!!
October 30 – November 2 Wake Forest, North Carolina
Falls Lake Recreation Area – Rolling View Campground
We had another perfect travel day. Blue sunny skies…a beautiful canvas of fall leaves for our eyes to see!!
This was our second time staying at this campground. Love it here!
Our site was across from the lake and with fall in full swing, we had a pretty good view. It was VERY chilly so our heat in the trailer got a good workout – LOL!!
Mikes sister and family live in the area so we spent most of our time with them.
Her birthday is on Halloween so it was the perfect reason to visit while on our way to our next destination.
We had a couple of yummy lunches together and took a morning walk in the woods – damn –burrrrr – it was COLD!!!!!!! Not a long stay but we enjoyed our time.
We’ll be back to enjoy a nice family home cooked Thanksgiving dinner….yeah!!!!
October 27 – 30 Chesterfield, Virginia – outside of Richmond
Pocahontas State Park
We had heard SO much about this park - a “must stay place” and it certainly didn’t disappoint.
What a gorgeous area!! We had a super nice site – the leaves were falling like crazy, and the weather was simply scrumptious our entire stay…..
Surprise!!! Who doesn’t like a surprise???
Turns out our daughter and her family were in Richmond for a little getaway, at the same time we were there.
Do you want to get together?
Well yeah!!!!
We didn’t spend much time at the park but it was well worth it.
We got to hang with the family – well part of it. We had lunches and dinners and tons of laughter.
We met them at the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, which is beautiful.
They happened to be celebrating Dia de los Muertos, the Mexican Day Of the Dead. There
were vendors and people dressed up in their best celebration outfits…..
Our daughter in-law's parents live only 5 minutes from the park.
Who wants to get together at a local brewery on such a beautiful day??? We all do!!!!! And the perfect weekend
ended with a yummy dinner at a winery.
Do we like to eat and drink?? Hell yeah…………
October 26 – 27 Newburg, Maryland
Aqualand Campground
This was a quick overnight stop to break up our mileage heading inland from the beach.
Privately owned – cheap – it did its job for a place to stay – LOL!
The drive was beautiful as the trees are changing and the leaves they are a fallin!!!. The
sunset was gorgeous and that’s about all there was to this trip…..
