Our first stop was a new one for us, at Indian Mountain State Park in Jellico, TN. It was a beautiful, quiet first night with temperatures in the 70’s and spring in the air. I imagine it is crowded and very bug-infested on summer weekends, but it was a perfect stop, midweek in March. We were fortunate that severe storms did not hit until long after we left the next day.
Our second stop was Forsyth, GA. We discovered Forsyth KOA Journey campground last year. It’s conveniently located, right off the highway. The town has a great microbrewery and a fantastic mexican restaurant. Once again, severe storms were approaching as we departed. We just barely escaped in time. A highlight was meeting a couple who just retired and were on their first night of full-time RV’ing. They were on their way to Florida to establish residency, before continuing on their full-time adventure. They plan to start a blog, so I’m looking forward to following along.
We stopped at Buc-ee’s to pick up some BBQ. The chain has become even more popular since we discovered it last year. It was quite a circus, with traffic backed up on the freeway exit, crowds in the store and the parking lot almost completely full. Somehow, it was still a pretty quick stop and a great lunch.
Indian Mountain State Park, Jellico, TNIndian Mountain State Park, Jellico, TNIndian Mountain State Park, Jellico, TNIndian Mountain State Park, Jellico, TNForsyth KOA Journey, Forsyth, GA (photo taken March 2022)Buc-ee’s BBQ (photo taken March 2022)Buc-ee’s BBQ (photo taken March 2022)Fox City Brewing Co, Forsyth, GA (photo taken March 2022)Slushie, in his upgraded travel accomodations. He now travels in business class, since he was violently tossed around the RV (coach) in August 2020, on bumpy I-80 in Nebraska.
“No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.” ― Heraclitus
While I truly believe this, I still need to continue going to new places. Our travels are a good mix of seeing new places and returning to some old favorites. I always look forward to both. Stay tuned, as I am planning to post something in a couple of weeks.
Finley’s riverside cabins, Grayling, MI. It was great to return to this cozy cabin as our home base, as we spent a few days skiing and shopping for ski gearFinley’s riverside cabins, Grayling, MIFinley’s riverside cabins, Grayling, MIHanson Hills Recreation Area has many miles of groomed cross country ski trails, as well as a small downhill ski and tubing hillPaddle Hard Brewing has great beer and is also known for their decadent macaroni and cheese. Since Marcy and I don’t feel we ski enough miles to eat all those calories, we like to order a kids mac-n-cheese and split it as an appetizer. So good!Forbush Corner Nordic is a recreational non-profit cross country ski facility, with many miles of groomed trails and the ability to make snow.Mushroom ravioli with Marcy’s homemade pesto, calad and artichokes. It was fun to cook our own gourmet dinner at the cabin.Cross Country Ski Headquarters, Rosscommon, MI. I purchased my first skis here, with Marcy, many, many years ago. They have a great shop, restaurant, many miles of groomed trails and snow-making equipment.
You can read more on cross country skiing in my post from last year:
October through January seemed like an eternity, doing work around the house, living with cold gray weather and fitting in regular doctor, dentist and other appointments. Though Dave’s business was busy with holiday sales, we were mostly bored. Looking forward to Maui was how we survived it without losing our minds. I did fit in a 3-week painting class at the local art center, as well as the reorganization of our spare bedroom to make it a studio. I did some painting, listend to many history poscasts and started a timeline of all of my travels. I also managed to sort through and shred several years worth of old documents that I previously never got around to. Reviewing old credit card statements, I was able to fill in some gaps in travel timeline.
It was quite gratifying to review all of the cool places I have been to so far. I have been to roughly 31 countries, including 4 territories (It’s an estimate as I took several cruises and don’t recall exact itineraries). Since I met Dave, we have always taken multiple trips every year. 2001 was an epic year with 5 amazing trips – Feb -Oahu/Kauai/Maui, July – Breckenridge, Sept – Telluride, Oct – Key West, Nov – Maui. We did this all while I was working 55+ hours per week and taking MBA classes at night. I remember being very tired….
Maui
It was great to return to Maui, as always. We had more windy and rainy days, than we did last year, but there was plenty of sun.
Going through life, it is clear that nothing stays the same. Change is pretty much constant. We have noticed that on an island, that is a high-end resort area, the rate of change seems to be far greater. People change jobs and move more frequently. We know of more people dying, than on the mainland, especially young people. Many of the older people we know, no longer go to Maui. Many full-time residents leave the island. Inflation seems greater. What remains the same is the beautiful scenery, the warm weather, constant whale sightings during whale season and how happy we are to be there.
We often reflect on how we are very grateful that we had the foresight and resolve to figure out how to buy a place there, when we could. If we hadn’t, we would not be able to afford to spend much time there, now.
Two months seemed to pass very quickly. Though I’m always sad to leave, we have new camping adventures ahead.
View from Pu’u KeKa’a (aka Black Rock). It’s my favorite stop on my morning walk or run. My happy place!A 100-year-old rubber fig trees at the Royal Lahaina Resort. One of my favorite trees on Maui.Rainy sunset over the poolHonokowai Beach ParkWe see rainbows nearly every morning from ou lanai. The surf break is named “rainbows”A monk seal, napping on the beachA typical evening, watching the sunset from our lanaiMorning view of Lanai, from the beach walkView of a whale breaching from our lanaiLive music by Wilmont, Greg and the band at the Ka’anapali ShoresView of Lanai and Molokai at sunsetHarry Troupe, the Jimi Hendrix of Maui, playing at the Kaanapali Beach Club. We have known Harry and have been listening to him play for about 20 years.Honolua Bay, one of the top snorkeling and surf locations on Maui.Slushie loves his souveniers from Maui!. He now has a hat like mine and a koa wood fish hook like Dave’s.
