Off We Go to Ohio

July 29 - August 12, 2016
Grand Lake St Marys State Park

After our packed stay in Butler PA we headed onward to Lake St. Marys State Park in west central Ohio where we stayed for 2 weeks.  My first choice was East Harbor State Park on Lake Erie where I lived as a child, but they were full. I fully understand as it is quite a gem, so maybe next year.

We pretty much just chilled out.  Unfortunately the lake was too full of algae so there was no swimming and very little boating allowed.

The weeks were pretty quiet but weekends were filled with families, kids and cookouts.  By Sunday afternoon, almost everyone was gone.

We took a few trips around the area and the nearest town was Celina OH.  It was a lovely old town out of the 50s - very quaint, clean and very small town-ish.  

And around the lake..

  

  

The final night gave us a stunning display as if to say 

"don't go".   

But we did....go.

Maybe we'll be back, or maybe we'll just remember.

So many places, so little time.

 

I'll remember this place...always. 

  

On to Kentucky.

More in Baton Rouge

May 16 - June 1, 2016. 

Well we went to Lakeside RV Park a few days after we arrived at the Ford dealership.  At first, our service manager didn't think it was too serious and hoped we'd be out of there by the end of the week but after the technicians has time to look at the car, they determined that the transmission was totally burned up.  They talked to Corporate to see if they should repair or replace the transmission and clutch.  Turns out they decided to replace everything, which is good (and quicker).

We rented a car and moved out to Lakeside RV Park in Livingston, Louisiana.  After the problem we had with the slides and CoachNet sent someone out, Lakeside Park pulled some strings and let us stay in the monthly section on the lake.  So we moved the next day and settled in until the car was ready.  We also moved our appointment with LazyDays to Monday June 6.  

We're hoping to keep that appt!

It was a great decision as it was much better than dry-camping in the back lot of the Ford dealership.  We loved the place and made a lot of friends. One day we took one of our dogs to the vet to renew his Rabies shot and met our neighbors from across the way.  Small world...

Two pair of geese decided to make the lake their home, 1 pair had a couple babies.  They all stayed together, then one day they were gone.

Am I am posting about food?  

Because I saw a Tasty video and it was so good! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rg0SHuklcEI

```````````````

We finally got our car back and stayed a few more days.

We loved Lakeside RV Park and will always have fond memories of the park and the people we met.

While we were there, I relaxed and 

did my first Tangle.  

We ate shrimp and crawfish.

The last day there, our neighbor Deborah brought us Boudin balls and sausage.  I feel terrible we didn't sample the local cuisine sooner!  All the more reason to return, as it was most delicious!

Onward to Tampa!

And the adventure continues!

The Beach

Today I finally checked out Santa Rosa Beach, about ¾ mile from the campsite. Even though I had my left hip replaced last March (and also stopped smoking), I still have some arthritis and soreness in my knees sometimes, so I decided to take the tram.  So I spent an hour checking out the beach and trust me, I’ll be spending some time there this week.  I’ll let the pictures do the talking.

First view of the Gulf

Endless

The Gulf 

As far as the eye can see

Lots of bikes

Beauty...More to come, promise..

We're On The Move!

It’s hard to know even where to begin.  As you know from previous entries, we’ve been living in the coach since mid October.  There were all kinds of repairs, delays, appointments with Cummins and Freightliner, all in order to get the coach ready for us to drive away. We got our Exit Pass on Monday November 9 so we could drive the coach off the lot, finally.

       The next morning a tech came to show us how to hitch up the car

and we were on our way!  Our delivery specialist Marroe made it all happen by annotating and scheduling all the repairs, appointments with Cummins and Freightliner, coordinating all aspects of the coach to get it ready for us to take it off the lot.

We finally took off around 10:30 am on November 10, 2015 while the tech watched us go.

 I nearly cried as we drove off the lot and out into the world to meet our future. We waited more than a year for this moment to arrive.  So much preparation, so much work, selling, storing, giving away, all with this goal in mind.  

                            

On our way out of the park, we just handed our ExitPass to the gate.

                                 And we are out and on our way.  We're finally freebirds!

So long Lazydays.  You treated us well.

We can even watch our car.  If we don't see it, we're in BIG trouble!

                                                 Our first rest stop to water the dogs.

We decided to take 2 days to the campground at Topsail Hill Preserve State Park so we stopped at Loves Truck Stop in Lee FL. 

Since there are no hookups, we used our generator to keep the lights and air conditioners on.  Not a big deal, but taking the dogs out at night was a challenge, dodging 18 wheelers, going in between them hoping not to be crushed, and watching out for snakes and alligators in the field.  Can’t be too careful! Boondocking our first night out, priceless. Parking without putting out the slides, double priceless.  End of Day 1!

We finally arrived at Topsail Hill State Park around 2pm. We didn’t realize we crossed a time zone, so we arrived an hour early.  

Getting closer and closer...











The campground didn’t seem to mind we were an hour early, so check-in was a breeze.  We managed to unhook our car without looking like fools and proceeded to our campsite after I, driving the car, got us lost for a bit.  But we made it and while I was parking the car, Shelly didn’t even bother to wait for me and proceeded to back the rig into the site.  Piece of cake.

And once again, we didn’t look like idiots.  We auto leveled the coach, put out the slides, hooked up the electric and water.  When it’s time to dump the gray and black tanks, we’ll get out the new sewer hose and figure out how that works!  We were too tired too tired to cook by then so we ordered the worst pizza ever.  End of Day 2 accomplished.

Yesterday (Thursday) we pretty much got settled, opened the awnings, got out the chairs, went shopping for food and other necessities and hung around outside in the evening.  I bought a lantern and tablecloth for the picnic table, so it looks quite homey already! 

Santa Rosa Beach is about 7/10<sup>th</sup> of a mile from here and I started to walk down, but it was almost 4pm so I stopped at a bench to send a text and lo and behold, a ranger went by and picked me up.  I met another couple who aren’t sure where they’ll go next.  They are full timers and we’re just starting out but I think we’re going to like this lifestyle...Til next time...