Criss-crossing the Country – Eastward (Jan-May 2021)

This is one of a multipart “catch-up” series to cover our last two years.  The others in the series include: 
October 2019 to Pandemic , Venturing Out Again, Criss-Crossing the Country – Westward

• After Christmas, we left Austin for Lajitas, TX staying at Maverick Ranch RV Park for 2 and half weeks.  There we rang in the New Year, hoping for a better 2021.  We had snow on New Year’s Day, visited with our Austin “pandemic buddies”, Rich and Karen, and went on numerous hikes.  Viki’s Dad came to visit for a few days, and we did some nice drives and hikes with him in Big Bend National Park and Big Bend Ranch State Park.  
• From Lajitas, we zinged back across Texas to spend a week at Hickory Creek COE in Dallas and see the kids.  Got the rig inspected and oil changed on Inauguration Day.
• Then we headed east!  Visited Two Warriors Meadery in West Monroe, LA and then spent an uneventful Wal-Mart night in Rayville, LA and then drove on to Gulf State Park in Gulf Shores, AL.  
• Gulf State Park is a new favorite – what a great place!  We really enjoyed the trails (gave our new Lectric bikes a workout) and beaches.  We also made a quick visit to the cute town of Fairhope, AL.
• We then traveled on to Chiefland, FL where we spent the month of February as part of the Escapees Winter Home Base Hangout.  Basically, we were a bubbled group who agreed to certain COVID protocols.  We did outdoor yoga, kayaked with manatees, hiked several places (Paynes Prairie Nature Preserve was especially nice), visited Cedar Key, took boat rides on the Homosassa River, and most importantly made new friends.  The month also included wine, beer and bourbon tastings, movie nights, morning coffee, and campfires.  We led a workshop and tasting on mead and others joined us in making some!
• After the Home Base Hangout, we spent a week at Escapees Park Sumter Oaks in Bushnell. FL so we could get a SmartWeigh.  Good news – we were underweight by several thousand pounds!  Very nice to be in a bigger rig where we don’t need to worry so much about weight.
• Went from there for an overnight stay in St. Augustine, FL. We saw the Castillo de San Marcos National Monument and drove by Fort Matanzas (closed due to COVID).  It was a cold, windy day, but it was interesting to visit the “oldest city” in the country.
• Headed north to Savannah, GA.  What a nice town.  We wandered around the streets and visited Savannah Bee Company for mead of course.  We stayed at Red Gate Campground for a week and found it nice and super convenient.
• Then we went to Santee Lakes, SC.  We spent two weeks at a nice KOA with our own private beach.  This was situated halfway between Columbia and Charleston, SC, allowing us to easily visit both. We wandered around Charleston on a Saturday, but it was really crowded due to Spring Break traffic.  We did go out to the beach for some Shrimp and Grits, though.  We also visited the lovely Congaree National Park, one of the least visited parks. Breweries abounded, but the highlight of this trip was getting our first COVID vaccine!  It made us change our plans a bit, but it was worth it.
• Waiting for our second dose, we had a few weeks to use up so we drove up to Charlotte, NC and spent a quiet week with some shopping and brewery trips, then drove on to spend a week in Asheville, NC.
• Asheville is a new favorite town and we added it to the “have to go back” list.  We visited breweries, a mead and cider shop, and drove a few miles on the Blue Ridge Parkway (most was closed in that area for repairs).  Viki was able to visit the Biltmore House which was a treat.  It would be good to go back when the garden is in full bloom.
• We headed back to the Columbia, SC area to get our second jab.  Spent a week in Ridgeway, SC getting laundry done and just living, but we did go to eat “inside” a restaurant for the first time since COVID.
• We began heading south again and traveled to Woodbine, GA just north of Jacksonville, FL.  We were able to go out to eat with an Austin College alumnus and his wife.  We also visited lovely Amelia Island.  
• We noticed a lot of oil on our hitch and car when we stopped.  Diagnosed it as hydraulic fluid that was leaking.  EEK!  As we continued south for a week in Ft. Lauderdale, FL we had to add 3 gallons of hydraulic fluid.  Who knows how many travelers on I-95 that day ended up with a thin coat of oil on their cars.  It was not one of our better days in the RV Life!  Fortunately, we were able to get a mobile RV tech who found a small leak in our hydraulic oil cooler and was able to get it welded.  We didn’t do a lot in Ft. Lauderdale.
• We then headed further south to celebrate our 35th Anniversary in Key West, FL.  Since this was a true “vacation” week, it was really full.  We stayed at Blue Water Key Resort, which officially became the Most Expensive RV site we’ve ever had.  It was in a jungle-like setting with a very private space and our own Cabana.  It was worth it for a week of vacation.  Being a vacation, the week was busy!  We wandered in Key West, ate great Cuban food, snorkeled off the beach, and caught a local band’s concert.  Viki’s Dad came to join us for a few days and we took an amazing seaplane ride out to Dry Tortugas National Park.  There we visited the fort and snorkeled again.  The fort was really interesting, but the plane ride itself was completely worth it on it’s own.  During the very low-altitude flight, we could see rays, sharks, dolphins, turtles, and shipwrecks in the shallow, clear waters of the Gulf of Mexico.  We also did a private boat ride on both the Gulf and Atlantic sides of the Key which was great for bird watching, snorkeling, and just listening to our guide tell us more about the area.  After Dad left, we went on a dolphin and snorkeling excursion. We did see dolphins, along with many of the little and bigger fish in the Gulf.  All in all, it was a great week.

Whew – that’s a lot.  Here are the pictures:

(Pro tip! Clicking on the photo makes it bigger and captions are below it)