Day visit in Miami

Being so close, we couldn’t visit southern Florida without going to Miami.  This vacation destination is know for its beautiful beaches, Art Deco architecture, and lively nightlife.  We had hoped to stay overnight, but the hotel costs are so expensive this time of year that it wasn’t worth it to us.  

While there, we stopped at the Town Kitchen and Bar for a small bite to eat.  Matt and I split duck empanadas and short rib tacos, and enjoyed a brief respite after a long drive along the heavily trafficked route from Homestead.  Next door, we stopped at the Surf and Turf Meat Market to pick up some fish, beef and wine.  The staff was really friendly, and even got us a bag of ice so we could pack our fare away in the cooler for the drive back.  

After we made it to Miami Beach and parked, we wandered along the Miami Beach Boardwalk, which is around 40 city blocks, a nice area to bike, run, or take a long walk and access the beautiful Miami beaches.  We popped out to the beaches a few times, and they are stunning!  The water is a gorgeous aqua blue, the sand is silky soft, and the breeze invites you to stay and relax all day…as long as you bring your sunscreen! ⛱

We opted to stop for another small bite to eat and a drink along the famed Ocean Drive at a place downstairs from Hotel Victor South Beach called Cafe Americano.  The open air seating allows you to gaze out toward the ocean, people watch and enjoy the warm weather.  We had tuna tartare and I also gazed upon the lovely wall of plants next to me, and simply enjoyed being in the moment. 

Afterward, we headed back up the boardwalk toward the convention center, which is close to where we parked.  Unfortunately, they had a big boat show going on that weekend, so there was a helicopter overhead that was really loud and annoying, and they closed a lot of the streets off around the convention center.  Just north of the convention center is the Miami Beach Botanical Garden.  After dealing with the chaos of the convention center, this peaceful sanctuary was a wonderful escape.  It is free to the public, host events, yoga, and has a boutique and garden center.  We simply enjoyed the gardenscapes, butterflies, and serene spots tucked away throughout the gardens to take a breather and enjoy our beautiful surroundings.  It is wonderful that they offer such a great space for the public to enjoy. 🦋

The one thing we didn’t enjoy was the traffic.  We learned two things: 

1. All bets are off when it comes to following the rules of the road.  We saw people driving in oncoming traffic lanes, jaywalkers risking their lives running across multiple lanes of traffic, bikers and autos alike veering around backed up traffic and drivers wedging themselves in wherever they saw fit.  Be prepared for anything and try to stay calm, but don’t expect to get anywhere fast.  

2. AVOID MAKING A LEFT TURN AT ALL COSTS! You will sit at a left turn for at least 30 minutes every time.  The traffic is constant, and even left turn lanes only allow 3-4 cars to pass at one time, though oftentimes 3-4 more will come careening through as long as they can keep the oncoming traffic at bay.  It is miserable and frustrating, to say the least.  

For this reason alone, we would never want to live in the Miami area.  Even bikers and pedestrians travel at their own risk.  If you are one of those people that invites the frenetic energy of the city into their lives, this may be a great place for you.  It just wasn’t our style.

Day trip to Key Largo

Another area nearby Homestead to visit are the Florida Keys.  Yet again, we had hoped to spend a night or two in the Keys, but winter is a popular time for tourists and the prices were upwards of $500 a night. 😯 The cheapest place we found was a shared hostel room for $150 a night. 🤑 Instead of heading all the way down to Key West, we opted to visit Key Largo instead, which is only about an hour away from the Everglades with traffic.

We traveled there during a holiday weekend, so our initial idea of going snorkeling was a bust, because all the snorkeling boats were booked solid for at least the next week and a half.  I guess we just didn’t plan well enough in advance, so we would need to find something else to do.  Instead, we rented kayaks at the John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park.  This is a very popular destination, so it took quite a while to get through the gates and park.  

We chose to do a 2-hour rental instead of a 4-hour rental, and we were glad we chose the shorter one.  Aside from Matt seeing a big, black spider and us both seeing a bunch of minnows, we didn’t see any other wildlife until right before we returned the kayaks, where we saw a bunch of large pink and blue fish.  Had we just walked over to the bridge next door we could have saved ourselves an hour of baking in the sun. 🥵 The water was pretty gross, with a film along the top, and the predetermined route meant there wasn’t a lot of opportunity to explore without running into boaters ahead or having more coming in from behind.  

Matt has more experience kayaking than I do, and he said it wasn’t that great. 🤨 But, at times it was really nice to just float on the water and enjoy the peace and quiet in the shade of the mangrove trees.  Even so, if we had stayed out much longer, we would have been horribly sunburnt despite covering ourselves in sunscreen, because the sun is so powerful here.  We returned the boats sooner than later and got cleaned up so we could go in search of food.  

Matt found a place called Pilot House that was featured on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives, so we decided to give it a shot.  It was just a little farther south from the state park on a marina.  We found a table in the shade and ordered a couple of tropical drinks to cool off.  Matt got a Rum Rummer frozen drink and I got a Pusser’s Painkiller.  Both were very good. 🍹 

Matt thought Tuna Nachos would be nice and refreshing as well, but unfortunately we didn’t read the description close enough. 😳 What looked like a drizzle of avocado was actually wasabi and there was a lot of it!  I couldn’t eat it, because it was so spicy it made me sneeze.  🤣 Matt tried to suffer through, but even he decided it wasn’t worth it to finish them.  Matt had their fish tacos, which he liked.  I had their fish sandwich, which was okay, but nothing to write home about.  We were melting even in the shade, and since there weren’t a lot of other options for walking around, it was time to call it a day and head back to Homestead.  

Our lessons learned here were: 1. Be willing to shell out lots of money if you want to spend time here during the cooler months of the year when the heat and humidity won’t completely melt you.  Lodging is incredibly expensive.  2. Make sure you book any snorkeling or scuba trips well in advance, especially on holiday weekends, because they are one of the most popular attractions in the area.  I’m sure the same goes for boat tours or ocean fishing.

All in all, we were glad we kept our travel to Miami and the Keys to a minimum and spent most of our time closer to our home base.  I’m still happy we explored these areas as they are fun to visit for a while, but I am not a beach-going person, so it just isn’t my cup of tea.  It is now time to start traveling north from here.  Until then, hasta luego. 👋

We finally headed to southern Florida and were so excited. The weather was looking fabulous and we were staying at a campground in the Everglades National Park.  But first, we needed to get there.  I took my turn at the helm, driving the first leg from Starke to Sebring, home to the Sebring International Raceway.  Our biggest challenge was finding a place to stop for lunch and bathroom breaks.  We found a truck stop, but because they are few and far in between off the interstate highways, they are always packed, so we had to keep moving and it made for a long day.

Turn 2 Brewing Company

We stopped overnight at a brewery for the first time in our Harvest Host experience.  Turn 2 Brewing Company is fairly new, having just opened in May 2021.  Parking was a bit tight, and we had to disconnect our truck in order to fit, but it worked out just fine.  Once we had some food, we went for a relaxing walk through the Tanglewood retirement community next door to stretch our legs after being in the car all day.  Herb, the owner of the brewery, was really accommodating, had crafted some excellent brews and had quite a broad selection, including porters, ales, ciders, and hard seltzers just to name a few.  

I tried the Nitro Chocolate Stout, and Brueberry Swerve fruit beer, and Matt had the Belgian Golden Strong and the Brown Ale.  They also have rotating guest taps and food trucks on site.  We talked with Patrick, one of the locals who retired from driving tugboats in Miami, who provided us some recommendations for our upcoming visit to Miami.  The Super Bowl just happened to be on during our overnight, so it was a great venue to watch the big game.  Overall, I recommend this host, but be aware that parking is a bit tight if you have a bigger rig.  You may need to disconnect your truck or towed vehicle to fit in the space.

The next day we finished our journey.  The scenery changed from highways knitted in by pine trees to grassy landscapes with intermittent cattle farms.  We passed Lake Okeechobee, which is the largest lake in Florida.  This lake feeds into the Everglades, and is now controlled through a series of canals and reservoirs, which you can see parallel to the roadways.  As we approached the outskirts of Miami and Homestead, we passed through a massive agricultural district where it seems nearly anything can be grown.  

Long Pine Key Campground

There are two campgrounds within the Everglades, one near Flamingo Marina on the coast and Long Pine Key Campground, closer to the southernmost park entrance.  At first, Matt was worried about what our experience would be like there since the reviews gave us mixed signals, but it turned out to be a real slice of paradise!  The layout of the campground provides spacious sites, the roads are paved, they have several bathrooms and solar-powered shower facilities, they offer night talks at their outdoor auditorium on different topics, and there are several trails that criss cross around and near the campgrounds.  There are mosquitos, but based on other campers’ experiences, there aren’t quite as many as they have at the Flamingo Campground.  We loved our stay and highly recommend staying here if you are visiting the Everglades. 

Hiking in the Everglades

If you like hiking, there are a plethora of options to explore in the Everglades.  There is so much to see if you like discovering new flora and fauna, and the winter months are the best time to go with milder heat and humidity.  You never know what you’re going to find, but here is what we experienced during our stay.

The Long Pine Key Trail the crosses near our campground is over 15 miles, and is primarily comprised of forestry roads.  We traveled along a few miles of them, and though they are wide, they are flooded in several sections.  We didn’t get our feet wet, because we had waterproof shoes on, but be aware if you attempt to bike as you will likely get wet, muddy and possibly stuck.  The trail landscape varies from wide open grasslands to pine forested sections.  I saw a decent variety of grassland plants blooming and Halloween Pennant dragonflies along the way.  

Our route eventually deposited us on the Long Pine Key Road, which tourists use to access the Nike Missile Site, and the Royal Palm area.  We saw more wetlands along the highway and an interesting sinkhole, but it made for a long day walking along this road to get back to the campground. 

At the Royal Palm area, you can access the Gumbo Limbo and Anhinga Trails as well as the Old Ingraham Highway, which is also a long forestry road similar to the Long Pine Key Trail.  The Gumbo Limbo Trail is a paved, 1/2 mile loop that takes you through a lush, tropical forest with some informational signage.  It wasn’t that exciting for us, so we continued on to the Anhinga Trail, which is slightly longer at .8 miles and the path is either paved or comprised of boardwalks above the marshlands.  

This is a very popular trail, because there are alligators, a wide variety of fish, birds, and turtles.  The marshlands are filled with grasses and lily pads, and some of the trees are covered in airplants. The highlights for us were seeing native and invasive fish species and a Florida softshell turtle.  Both of these trails are family friendly, and great for wildlife viewing. 

Along the route from Flamingo to Long Pine, we stopped at a few short boardwalks as well.  The first one, called Mahogany Hammock Trail is .5 miles, and takes you across a marsh and among large, old mahogany trees on higher ground, called a hammock.  The highlight for us was watching two lizards called green anoles spar with each other. 🦎 Check out this video that shows them changing color, posturing and fighting!  Had we been here a few minutes later, we may not have seen this, so it was a real treat to witness.  

Later on, we stopped by the Pa-Hay-Okee Overlook Trail, which is a .2 mile loop.  I saw snails and more green anoles, and enjoyed the expansive view from the high point that overlooks the grasslands north of us.  All of the boardwalks are family-friendly, so you can bring your strollers and enjoy the beautiful surroundings.

Shark Valley

One of our favorite experiences during our time in the Everglades was visiting Shark Valley, which is accessed by going out of the park, heading north through Homestead, and then west along Highway 41.  This is a very popular destination, so be prepared for traffic, but it is well worth the hassle.  We parked along Highway 41, and biked in.  Pedestrians and bikers have a separate check in from automobile traffic, making it more efficient to enter the park.  The entire loop in Shark Valley is over 15 miles long, so biking it is the way to go, but you can also sign up for a tram tour.  Walking the entire loop may be overly ambitious, because it is mostly exposed and hot without a lot of amenities along the way.

We saw so much wildlife while we were there.  It’s odd that it’s called Shark Valley, because that is one of the few things you will NOT see while there.  However, the birds are seemingly unafraid, so we got up close and personal with them like we have nowhere else, seeing herons, egrets, purple gallinules, anhingas and more.  Alligators are all over the place, so if you want to see one, this place will not disappoint.  We also saw a variety of fish, turtles, and some interesting flowers along the waterways.  

At the southernmost point in the trail is the Shark Valley Lookout Tower, where you have sweeping views in every direction of the grasslands and hammocks within the Everglades.  We had a bite to eat at the top, which had a nice breeze and some shade.  There are also bathrooms nearby, the only ones on the loop aside from the visitor center.  After enjoying our respite, we continued on to the eastern portion of the loop.  This area is even more exposed than the west, and we didn’t see as much here as the western portion.  That being said, we did see an alligator with its mouth open, which looked menacing; however, we later learned that’s how they regulate their body temperature.  

All in all, this loop is packed with some of the best wildlife sightings and best views within the entire park.  I highly recommend taking a day to visit if you are going to the Everglades.  Trust me, you will not be disappointed.  🐊

Boat trip from Flamingo Marina

Because the Everglades are filled with waterways, it makes sense to either do an airboat tour (we saw a bunch along Highway 41 headed to Shark Valley) or a pontoon boat tour.  We opted for the latter, signing up with Flamingo Adventures.  They offer both bayside and backcountry tours, and since we had already toured the inland waterways of Shark Valley, we chose to tour the bay instead.  

A lot of the reviews state that you’ll see more wildlife in the marina than you will on the tour, and our experience was no exception.  In the marina we saw a crocodile, a pair of osprey tending to their chicks in a large nest, manatees, needle fish, and lots of shore birds milling about.  If you just visit the marina, still be sure to bring your bug spray as the mosquitos are thick there.

Nevertheless, we did learn about the history of the keys (small islands) we visited on the tour.  The Florida Bay has one of the largest seagrass beds in the continental US, and is essential to the survival of many species, including manatees, a beloved sea mammal.  We visited Murray and Frank keys, both of which are mainly covered in mangrove trees and have big osprey nests  visible along the shoreline.  The waters are shallow as you get close to the keys, so shore birds such as egrets, herons and pelicans are plentiful.

We came near Oyster Keys as well, which is where one of the country’s first game wardens named Guy Bradley was killed by a plume hunter, which was a frequent activity in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s.  Egrets, flamingos and other birds were hunted for their feathers, because hunters could make good money doing so, but these birds were nearing extinction due to this practice.  Guy was a fierce conservationist and tried to step in and stop this practice and protect the birds, and died doing so, having been shot in the line of duty.  

Although it wasn’t a great opportunity to see wildlife, we did enjoy a relaxing boat ride, learning about the history of the area and exploring a new part of the Everglades.  All in all, we had an AMAZING experience in the Everglades and would highly recommend visiting in the winter months, especially if you love camping, hiking and biking outdoors.  There is so much to discover, and it sure beats battling ice and snow in the northern regions of the country.  

We said goodbye to our lovely campsite in Tallahassee and headed near Gainesville, home to the University of Florida Gators.  We drove straight to our campsite without stopping, and since I had been sneezing incessantly, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise.  We made great time, scarfed down food before we got too hangry, and I was able to lie down for a nap to try and stop the sneeze-fest.

Starke KOA

Compared to some of the other KOA’s we have stayed in, this one is a bit more run-down.  Many of the pull throughs are cracked and heaved and so was our patio.  The “nature trail” on the outside edge of the park was flooded and unusable during our stay.  We had issues with our electrical hook-up as well; however, they did come out right away to tighten up the connections and it worked fine for the remainder of our stay.  There is also a train traveling nearby that blares its horn every other hour throughout the night, making it difficult to sleep.

The on-site laundry machines haven’t been replaced since the 1980’s, according to one of the residents, and the dryers had burnt rubber melted in them and wouldn’t stay closed.  I had to stay and monitor them, putting the clothes back in and restarting them every 5-10 minutes.  I opted to do laundry down the street the second time around, which wasn’t much better, but at least the machines were reliable and clean.

I recall we had a difficult time finding a decent place near Gainesville, and a lot of the nicer ones were already booked up.  If you are visiting the area, make sure you reserve your spot early…like 9-12 months in advance.  This place was ok for a week, but I wouldn’t return here.

Loblolly Woods Trail & Cry Baby’s

The next morning was rainy and chilly, so we got out late in the day.  After doing some trip planning and chores, we headed into town for a little walk through the Loblolly Woods on the Hogtown Greenway, which is a small natural preserve couched in between some major thoroughfares.  You pass back and forth over the Possum and Hogtown Creeks, which are low running, sandy-bottomed waterways.  There is also a 1/2 mile boardwalk that we used to circle back on a portion of our walk.

Afterward, we drove a few miles east of the university campus and found a bar and eatery called Cry Baby’s to grab a quick bite and enjoy a cocktail.  We decided to try their yuca fries, which were served with curried aioli and they were scrumptious.  Our tropical drinks were also delicious, but alas we had to get back to Starke and make dinner.  If you’re looking for a great place to get cocktails that also serves delicious eats, come on by.  

Devil’s Millhopper and San Felasco Hammock Preserve State Park

Florida actually has quite a bit of public land compared to most states on the east coast, so we took advantage and went exploring.  First up, we stopped at Devil’s Millhopper, a sinkhole and registered natural landmark whose namesake comes from its funnel-like shape.  It is 120 feet deep and 500 feet across and has been the source of geological finds like fossilized shark teeth and marine shells.  It has lush flora and the water in the bottom is quite clear.  

After grabbing some lunch nearby, we headed over to the San Felasco Hammock Preserve State Park to explore some of their trails.  This place is popular with runners, having mostly wide, flat paths, but beware that there are wild boars in the park.  We saw two groups of hogs during our time there.  We also saw deer, some plants starting to bloom, and some picturesque swamps.  It is not a challenging trail, but is a decent place to enjoy nature, as long as you keep your eyes peeled for boars and have something to fend them off if they get aggressive.  

Biking the Hawthorne-Gainesville trail

Like Tallahassee, Gainesville has a series of bike/walk paths.  We started south of Starke in a town called Hawthorne, where we parked and biked into Gainesville.  This path was a little smoother than the Tallahassee trail, had more sights to see along the way, and even had some hilly sections.  We stopped near Depot Park for some lunch, opting for Goldie’s.  I tried their vegan chili cheese burger and Matt had their chicken tenders.  I liked the textures of my burger, but it didn’t have a lot of flavor.  After taking a pause to enjoy the midday sun, we headed back.

On the journey back, we stopped at a few overlooks to the Sweetwater marshy regions below and the Alachua Lake, both within the Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park.  At the second overlook, our view was framed by beautiful, large trees covered in Spanish moss, and we heard an amazing array of sounds coming from wildlife in the forest and marshlands surrounding us.  We made one more stop at a boardwalk where a waterway fed by Newnans Lake is bordered by mangrove trees.  It was a great day to be outdoors.

World of Beer (WOB)

Our final stop was World of Beer.  They truly do have a wide selection of bottled beers from all over the world and a few dozen selections on draft.  Though the google description said it was a gastropub, I wouldn’t exactly say that is accurate…it was a local college sports bar.  That being said, I did enjoy my burger, which was juicy and just the right size for me.  I did a “build your own burger” and chose arugula, cheddar and garlic aioli with sweet potato fries on the side.  Though it may not be a gastropub atmosphere, you can get a decent brew and burger.  

And now we are off again, headed to the southernmost place in our travels.  I can’t wait to take advantage of the warmer weather in southern Florida, which hasn’t been impacted in quite the same way by the cold fronts moving through the rest of the east coast.  Until then, stay warm and happy trails.   

From Destin to Tallahassee was a breeze!  Our drive was only 165 miles, which is such a short travel day.  The sun was shining, the roads were nice, and we arrived right around the earliest check in time.  Tallahassee is not just the capitol of Florida, but also home to Florida State University, and is right around 200,000 people, which is just large enough to give you a little bit of everything you might need.

Coe Landing County Park Campground

For this stay, we had a waterfront view right next to Lake Talquin.  It was really tranquil, tucked in beneath the Spanish moss-covered trees and just 20 minutes away from downtown Tallahassee.  The campground had the basics…bathrooms with showers, water and electric hookups, a fire ring and a picnic table at each camp site, and a dump station next to the entrance/exit to the park.  Next door was a boat ramp and dock for easy lake access, and just down the road we were trails within the Lake Talquin State Park.  For the low-key camping experience, this place was just right.  If you require full hookups, on-site laundry, etc., you will need to look elsewhere.  We took advantage of a warmer night and had our third campfire since we have been on the road, and listened to the frogs, crickets and other wildlife serenade us.  We loved our stay and would come back again.

Cascades Park

The day after we arrived, we decided to explore the downtown Tallahassee area.  Because it’s the capitol of Florida, it really is a beautiful little city, and surprisingly hilly for Florida.  In the heart of downtown is a nicely landscaped park with an amphitheater, ample walking paths, and connections to historic landmarks.  This park is next to walk/bike paths that connect you to the Railroad Square Art District.  We had hoped to explore more, but I was having another one of my all-day sneezing fits, and needed to head back for a nap. 😞

Tate’s Hell hike & St. George Island

My friend Tali that I met in Montana has been helping me out with great hiking tips and a multitude of other recommendations as we travel along, and the hike through Tate’s Hell State Forest was one of them.  Thanks Tali! 😍 We had a lovely drive from Tallahassee to the Gulf Coast, which took about an hour and a half.  There are no facilities (e.g. bathrooms, picnic tables, etc.) at the first trailhead, just FYI.  I’m not sure if there are any at the second trailhead, because we didn’t travel there, but it’s just a few miles down the road.  

There are two loops, including the shorter East Loop and the longer West Loop.  We started out on the West Loop going clockwise, and took as many of the side trails off the wider main path as we could.  At a cutoff around the 3 mile marker we headed back eastward.  Along the way, the trails alternated between muddy bogs to pine straw to sand.  The highlight was seeing these tiny little carnivorous plants called sundews that aren’t much wider than an inch and a half.  It was also nice to be out in the warmth of the sunshine enjoying nature.

Most of the northern part of the West Loop was a fire road, and we didn’t see as many interesting things.  The areas next to bogs had raised foot bridges to walk around them, which was great so we wouldn’t get our feet wet.  We decided to do the East Loop, but in hindsight I wish we had not, because we didn’t see much of anything and the trail was mostly sand. 🙁 We were tired and hungry afterward to decided to head over the St. George Island nearby for a drink and some food.

Along the drive to the island, we noticed there were long docks next to the bridge, and realized that they must have been repurposed from an older bridge.  It’s nice that they still made it accessible for fishing and foot traffic.  On the island we went to the Blue Parrot Oceanfront Cafe.  It was shaded, cold and windy where we were seated, so we kind of regretted our tropical drinks that we ordered. 🥶😂 However, the smoked tuna dip and blue crab claws helped tide us over until we got back home.  We had a lovely drive back on a different route and really enjoyed the whole day.

Bike ride to St. Marks

Th next day we decided to take advantage of a dedicated walk/bike path converted from an old railroad that takes you from Tallahassee down to St. Marks, and is around 16 miles one way.  The trail is mostly shaded and has ample benches, bathrooms and other parks and playgrounds along the way, making it family-friendly and easy for everyone to enjoy.  It’s fairly flat and there isn’t a lot of scenery or even curves in the path, so it was mostly uneventful.  It did get windier later on, so we were lucky we didn’t get hit by some falling palm fronds we discovered on the way back. 😯 

While down in St. Marks, we stopped at the Riverside Cafe.  There is ample seating and even a bar dockside where I saw a bunch of pelicans hanging out, sunning themselves.  The food was kind of lackluster, and due to the open air aspect of the bar, we did get pooped on by some birds. 🤢 However, it comes with the territory, so we couldn’t be too upset.  Next time we will have to choose our table more carefully…🧐

Although it wasn’t the most exciting bike ride, it was nice to get out and enjoy the sunny weather, and it’s great that they make this area accessible to the public.  It may not be a very difficult bike ride, but it could be great training grounds for a marathon, so you can take advantage of the open space for anything from an idle stroll to an ambitious challenge and make it your own. 

Fort Braden Trails Hikes

Right next door to our campground are the Fort Braden Trails in Lake Talquin State Park.  We walked up the road and cut in around 3/4 mile from the campground, which puts you on a trail with pink trail markers.  We went counter clockwise and cut over onto a trail with orange markers, which is a little longer and more meandering.  While exploring, we saw a lot of beautiful fungi and a few sections that had undergone controlled burns.  

After a big day of rain, I decided to return and travel the trail marked with pink clockwise and saw a big detour right off the bat because of hornets.  The detour routed me back onto the highway for about 1/4 mile.  Later on I saw a deer and what I think was a large hawk gliding through the forest not once, but twice!  Even after a heavy rain, the trail was in pretty good condition with the sandy soil, which drains quite well.  The stream crossings are a bit messy, but still relatively easy to navigate.  I loved having this place within walking distance of our campground.

Harry’s Seafood Bar and Grille

On one of the stormiest days during our stay, we decided to head out for a bite to eat.  Next to the Florida State University campus is Harry’s Seafood Bar and Grille, a local chain restaurant in Florida that specializes in cajun, creole and southern cuisine.  We each had one of their signature drinks and their fried green tomatoes, which I discovered isn’t even a Southern tradition.  Who knew?!?  

For our main courses Matt had a shrimp and scallop dish with collard greens on the side and I had mmhi-mahi with an arugula salad and “smashed potatoes” on the side.  We liked our mains, but were disappointed with our side dishes.  Matt’s collards were so salty that they were inedible.  I was expecting actual smashed potatoes (boiled, smashed then roasted potatoes), and instead I just got mashed potatoes.  Overall, it was a nice meal and our waiter, who appeared to be a young college student, kept us entertained with his enthusiasm. 😂

Florida State University (FSU) Museum of Fine Arts

After the rain, the temperatures dropped again in the region, so we decided to explore the FSU Museum of Fine Arts, which is associated with the school and is free for entry.  Heading downstairs first, we saw pottery on display by ceramist Jiha Moon, which was quite unique and beautiful. In the rest of the downstairs were photographs from photographer Bruce Davidson, expressing some of the grittier parts of life and spanning several decades.

Upstairs was a tribute to the Flying High Circus, which was a college circus!  It was surprising to find out you could go to college and run away to the circus at the same time. 🎪 They had videos, audio recordings, photos, props and clothes.  In another room, they had sketches of costume designs on display.  The whole museum is small, so it only took about 20 minutes to walk through it, but the curated exhibitions were very well done and worth seeing.

Bare Naked Kitchen

After visiting the art museum, we walked down the street for lunch to this cute place called Bare Naked Kitchen.  They had some creative and varied seating inside for both small and large groups, including a couple of swings.  The design was light and airy and the food was on the “healthy” side.  I loved it, because they had some creative mixtures of veggies, grains, fruits, flavors and textures, so the bowls we chose were delicious.  Matt had the Porkfection bowl and I had their Eve’s Temptation Salad.  If I were staying longer, I would go back, because they had a lot of yummy looking items on the menu. 😋

Alas, our time in Tallahassee came to an end after just one short week.  Unfortunately, on our moving day, I had ANOTHER all-day sneezing attack, my second one in a week! 🤧 Although I had planned to drive, Matt had to take the reins instead. Let’s hope I can get a handle on my rhinitis so it doesn’t keep ruining entire days with incessant sneezing and blowing through entire boxes of tissues. 😕 Our next stop is Gainesville, another Florida college town, home to University of Florida.  As they like to stay, “Welcome to the swamp!”

Our travel day began with a trip to the drugstore to help treat my kidney stone and make it easier to pass.  After getting that all straightened out, we needed to get going!  Thankfully, we had a shorter travel day, so our late start didn’t impact us too much.  The skies were clear and sunny, and the winds had died down, so we had a wonderfully uneventful traverse from Louisiana to the Florida panhandle.  

Destin West RV Resort

The main drag between Fort Walton and Destin is called the Miracle Strip, and our RV park was right off of it, between the road and the bay side.  The Destin West RV Resort is smaller, but clean, and conveniently located.  They have a pool, communal fire pit, showers and laundry on site, and the landscaping between sites provides a decent amount of privacy.  There are also some high top tables on the bay side where you can sit and watch the birds, boats and waves, which we did a few times.  The only issue with this location is that it’s loud and there is no escape from the traffic noise.  Otherwise, we enjoyed our stay here.

Celebrating Matt’s birthday

Given how cold and snowy the Midwest and Northeast have been, we were grateful to have been able to spend Matt’s birthday in sunny Florida.  Matt loves poké, so we found a place called Taiwan Ice Cream and Poké to pick up a few bowls and take them to the beach.  This place uses rice as its base, which I thought was a bit unusual, but we did get to pick out all of our toppings.  We popped over to the Henderson Beach State Park, enjoyed our lunch at a sunny picnic table, and then walked down to the beach to explore.

This natural landscape is juxtaposed with condominiums, beach houses and strip malls surrounding it, and offers a campground, playground, boardwalks to the beach, and a 3/4 mile nature trail.  You can picnic, swim, fish, walk the beach or even have your wedding here.  Because it has been unseasonably cold, the sand was chilly, but it was still nice to feel the soft, white sand under my bare feet.  The wind was really strong that day, and with a surf advisory in effect, we decided to head back indoors to warm up.

On our way back to our trailer, we stopped at Smallcakes of Destin to pick up another one of Matt’s favorites: red velvet cupcakes. 😋 I think Matt’s eyes were bigger than his stomach, because he picked out quite a few cupcakes.  Though the cake was very moist and delicious, we were disappointed in the frosting…there was no cream cheese frosting on the red velvet cupcakes. In fact, all of the cupcakes seemed to have the same, very sweet buttercream frosting, which wasn’t our favorite.  Maybe next time he’ll let me make them instead. 😉

To cap off our evening, we went to the Louisiana Lagniappe for dinner.  This place was packed, so we were glad we got there on the early side and didn’t have to wait too long for a table.  The staff was friendly, and instead of serving bread at our table, they served us hush puppies.  We both chose fish dishes and I also ordered a cup of crab bisque.  Everything was a bit on the heavy side, fried and greasy, so we only ate about half of our dish before we were full.  

To top off the evening, I was surprised by a gray tabby kitty outside of the entrance to the restaurant, looking expectantly at me to hand over some of my leftovers. 😸 I pet the kitty a few times, but kept the leftovers to myself.  All in all, it was a low key day, which is exactly what Matt wanted. ❤️🥳

Mini Golf

Next door to the RV park is Wild WIlly’s Adventure Zone, an arcade with mini golf and a ropes course out front.  We popped over one evening as the sun was just starting to set.  They offer two mini golf courses: the pirate-themed Islands of Tortuga or Jurassic-themed T-Rex Island.  Both are pretty cheesy, with motion sensored animatronic figures that talk and move.  However, the courses are some of the better maintained ones we have seen, so it could be a fun outing if you are staying nearby.

Eglin Air Force Base Hike

To cap off our stay, we found a nearby hike on Eglin Air Force Base, called the Timberlake Trail for hikers and cyclists.  If you look at the GPS map for this trail, it looks like some sort of tentacled sea creature or an outline of a tropical bird with its zigzag route. 🦑 However, there are more direct routes surrounding this trail as well as another trail on the other side of the Lightwood Knot Creek that you can take to Timber Lake.  The trails were well marked, our route having red markers and the more direct route having blue markers, though I suppose it might be a difficult to follow if you are color blind, so use a GPS map to stay on track. 😳 

I was surprised and delighted to discover that this area was filled with a wide variety of fungi, lichen, and moss, including a lion’s-mane mushroom, Christmas lichen, and Evan’s deer moss.  The trails are primarily a combination of pine straw and firm sand, and the routes are relatively flat.  Just FYI, the air force was performing drills during the morning, so there were lots of jets taking off overhead and the faint sound of heavy artillery being used nearby.  However, the activity did subside in the afternoon and it was an otherwise peaceful hike.  

As we headed back to the trailhead, we decided to extend our hike by heading to Timber Lake, where we did see more foot traffic and a few cyclists.  The lake has picnic tables surrounding it and is accessible by an unmarked dirt road as well.  We stayed for just a moment before heading back since it was getting late and our feet were tired.  We enjoyed our little hike and I recommend it if you are looking for an outdoor adventure that isn’t on a beach. 🍃🍄

Our time in Destin was definitely more relaxed compared to our action-packed days volunteering in Louisiana.  I attended to a few doctor’s visits and we did more future trip planning to stay on track as we head up the Appalachian mountain range come next spring.  We will continue to hunker down here in Florida for the remainder of February and hope the winter storms subside by the time we head north. 🤞 Our next stop is Tallahassee, the state’s capitol and also home to Florida State University.  

Over the holidays in late 2021, most of our meals were cooked at home with Matt’s and my family, or I made repeats of things from earlier on in our journeys.  Since we resumed our travels after the holidays, I found more time to explore some new cooking ideas. Here are a few fun finds from the road over the past few months.

Veggie ramen

I had Brussels sprouts on hand and was tired of the status quo, so I found this interesting ramen recipe that gave me a more creative way to use them.  However, I made quite a few adjustments, and it was NOT a 30-minute prep time like the recipe states!

When it came to roasting the Brussels sprouts, I did follow the recipe, except I added more olive oil to try and loosen the consistency of the miso so it would coat the sprouts more evenly.  If I make this recipe again, I will bring the miso paste to room temperature first before blending it with olive oil to improve the consistency, or possibly add a tiny bit of water, because it was too lumpy and didn’t stick to the sprouts very well.  Regardless, they still tasted good.

Instead of mushrooms and chicken, we opted for firm tofu.  I drained and cut the tofu into 4 slabs, and soaked up liquid by placing the slabs between paper towels and weighting them between two plates with a few canned goods on top for about 20 minutes, replacing paper towel layers at least once.  Then, I cubed and browned the tofu in a skillet with canola oil, salt and pepper.  I found a tube of gochujang (fermented red pepper paste) at the grocery store, so substituted this in lieu of sambal oelek. 

Finally, I used fresh spinach instead of frozen, and wilted and sautéed it in some canola oil until most of the moisture had been released.  Instead of individual ramen packs, Matt found a box of plain ramen, 4 “pucks” per pack.  I cooked the noodles separately from the broth, using 2 packs, one for each of us, then poured the broth over each serving, and put all of the fixings on top.  We couldn’t find any Fresno chilis or jalapeños, but we garnished with carrot, basil, cilantro, lime, that delicious ginger butter from the recipe and jammy eggs.

This was such a delicious ramen!  You can easily make this vegetarian or vegan by using veggie broth instead of chicken, and an alternative to butter.  I highly recommend keeping most of the components separate until you pull each bowl of ramen together to maintain the desired textures of each ingredient.  The flavors and textures melded together beautifully.  

Chicken and wild rice soup

Originally I had planned to make a wild rice salad with romaine, wild rice, cherry tomatoes, grilled chicken, walnuts, and a balsamic walnut vinaigrette, but Matt came down with a stomach bug, and shifting to a chicken and rice soup seemed like the better choice.

I found this instant pot soup recipe and had most of the ingredients on hand, so it worked out well.  Surprisingly, I didn’t have any carrots on hand, and no frozen peas, but I did have sugar snap peas, so I blanched those instead and added them after the rest of the soup was finished.  I also skipped the mushrooms, but that’s a personal choice.  

The interesting addition at the end was eggs to thicken the broth.  This recipe reminded me of a blend between a standard chicken and rice soup and avgolemono, a Greek chicken, lemon and rice soup, but with the meatiness of the wild rice.  Overall, it worked well for an upset stomach, having a gentle flavor profile and a simpler list of ingredients.

Shrimp tacos

I don’t have a specific recipe, but we couldn’t visit the Gulf of Mexico without getting some Gulf shrimp.  Matt sautéed the shrimp with jerk seasoning, toasted flour tortillas, and I prepared a pineapple salsa out of pineapple, jalapeño, cilantro, lime and sea salt.  The tacos were also dressed with a cabbage slaw, lime, jerk seasoned sour cream, and avocado.  The combination of sweet shrimp, subtly spicy seasonings, sweet and sour elements of the salsa, creaminess from the sour cream and avocado, and crunch from the cabbage slaw made these tacos delicious all around.  If you happen upon fresh fish or shrimp, tacos with some fresh veg and fruit are a great way to enjoy flavors from the sea.  

Smoke fish hash with mustard greens

Another favorite from Eating Well, this smoked fish and mustard green hash is a great way to have breakfast for dinner. 😋 It is really flexible, because you can crisp up the potatoes to your liking, use any type of smoked fish you prefer, any kind of sturdy, dark leafy green you have on hand, and prepare your eggs however you desire.  My parents are from Minnesota, so they ice fish every year, then smoke the fish and can it in a pressure canner.  The pressure canner dissolves any little bones, so you are left with large chunks of smoky fish to enjoy however you like.  Typically, they smoke tullibee, which is a common fish where they live. 

For the potatoes, I boiled them, then cooled them in the freezer for about 20 minutes until firm and then cut them into smaller pieces.  If you like crispy potatoes, I recommend putting a cast iron skillet over high heat and getting a good char on the potatoes before flipping them, then dropping the temperature to medium high.  When you start adding other ingredients, drop the temperature again to medium.  

I love the smell and flavor that mustard greens impart, so if I can find them, that’s what I use.  Turnip greens or kale would be my next preference, but collards would also work nicely.  Finally, I love poached eggs and found this article that shared a new technique to add to my repertoire.  You can get rid of wispy pieces of egg white by putting the egg in a fine mesh sieve and letting the runny egg whites run through.  This leaves the firmer egg whites for poaching and works like a charm!  🤩

One addition at the end was a little drizzle of olive oil and green onion for garnish to add a fresh pop of flavor and crunch to contrast with the smokiness of the hash and creamy eggs.  It’s a favorite in our house, and I hope it becomes a favorite in your house as well.

Shrimp étouffée 

After having shrimp tacos, we saved the remaining uncooked shrimp and all of the shells.  I decided to make a shrimp stock out of the shells with a few spices and veggies added to deepen the flavor based on this stock recipe. Then, I was on the hunt for a way to use this stock.  What kept popping up over and over again when searching online was étouffée, and it seemed appropriate considering out next venture was going to be in Louisiana.  

The shrimp étouffée recipe I used called for 1 1/2 lbs of shrimp, but I only had about 1/2 lb remaining, so I decided to use some chorizo we already had on hand instead for the rest of the protein.  If I were to do this again, I would use a different chorizo…this brand didn’t have a lot of substance to it, but in the end it did blend in well with the sauce. 

The sauce was just the right thickness, and the fact that we had less shrimp seemed to actually work well to balance the sauce to shrimp ratio, in my opinion. Finally, étouffée is traditionally served with rice, so we cooked some basmati. The whole dish was well balanced flavor-wise…not too fishy, salty, or spicy…just right! 😍 I would make this again if I had fresh shrimp in shells on hand.

Ice-box cake

Normally I stick to just 5 recipes per post, but I couldn’t resist adding a yummy dessert. 😋 We had cherries, blueberries and graham crackers that needed to be used up, so that was the impetus for choosing this ice-box cake recipe.  It was also portable, so easy to share on our Habitat for Humanity (HFH) job site, and a nice treat on a hot day.

Lemon curd is a household favorite, so I opted to make it from this epicurious recipe instead of buying a jar of it.  The fruit compote called for kirsch brandy, but I decided purchasing a whole bottle solely for this recipe wasn’t prudent, so I found a mini bottle of cherry rum instead, and that worked just fine.  Since I didn’t have as many cherries as the recipe called for, I supplemented the compote with blueberries, which made a delicious combo.

Putting the layers together in our loaf pan, I discovered that I didn’t need the extra whipped cream that the recipe called for.  I had plenty of the mascarpone, cream and lemon curd mixture left over for serving, so using just a pint of whipped cream would likely be sufficient.  Using parchment paper was pivotal to getting the cake out of pan, so don’t skip this important step.  Before serving, I used a butterknife to loosen the corners, tipped the cake upside down on a clean, flat surface, and removed the parchment.  

The HFH crew loved it! 🥰 No one had any complaints, but in my opinion the whipped cream content was too high, because it stuck to the roof of my mouth.  I think it is yet another reason to use just a pint of whipped cream.  If you have fresh or frozen berries on hand and an open package of graham crackers that will otherwise get stale, this is a great way to use them.

Cooking on the road is still fun yet challenging at the same time. Finding space in the refrigerator or our pantry is always a game of Tetris, but meal planning and using ingredients that are already on hand help make it all work. 😃

As we say goodbye to Galveston and complete our travels through Texas, we are excited about our adventures to come in Louisiana.  After a few weeks of staying on the coast, our rig was covered in salt and sand, so we decided to get our truck and trailer washed on our way out of town.  I found this list of truck washes that also cater to RV’s.  It took about an hour because of long lines, but it was worth it!  Salt can be very destructive…we had a lot of rust form in the two weeks on the Gulf Coast, so we wanted to prevent more from forming. 

White Oak Park, Lake Charles, LA

We only like to drive 200-300 miles per day, so we stayed for a night in White Oak Park.  This park is small, but relatively quiet and clean.  There isn’t a whole lot to do there if you don’t have a boat, but it does have a playground and centralized bathrooms with showers.  Ironically, of the three travel trailers staying the night (us included), one of the other two was also traveling in an Outdoors RV (the Oregon-made brand of RV we own).  We ended up chatting with the owners, who are from Vermont and are traveling a reverse route from us, heading westward and hitting a lot of the same spots as us.  After checking out each other’s rigs, we managed to delay our departure by an hour, but it was fun to hear about their journey and exchange helpful tidbits with each other.

Fairview-Riverside State Park, Madisonville, LA

The Fairview-Riverside State Park is located on the Tchefuncte River and is a sister park to the much larger Fontainebleau, which is just 20 minutes away.  The Louisiana state parks seem to be well kept and are affordable, so I would recommend them for your stay if you are visiting in the area.  Our stay was peaceful, and featured the Otis House (a late 19th-century Queen Anne–style house once owned by a lumber baron) and a nearby steam powered sawmill on display.  The Otis House is undergoing renovations, so I’m not sure if you can go inside at this time.  

The park has two areas for camping and we were in the smaller one, which is tucked away closer to the river.  Each area has centralized bathrooms with showers and laundry; however, the laundry facilities were limited to 2 each in the larger area and 1 each in the smaller area and the cost was $1.75 each machine.  There is no change machine and the park employees do not have change, so make sure you get quarters elsewhere.  We went on a short boardwalk near our campsite, and explored the area around the Otis House, but otherwise didn’t spend a lot of time outside since the weather got very cold during our stay.

Tammany Trace bike/walk path

The communities of Covington, Abita Springs, Mandeville, Lacombe and Slidell are situated on the “north shore” of Lake Pontchartrain and have been connected via the “Rails to Trails” project of the Tammany Trace.  Dan, one of the Habitat for Humanity (HFH) volunteers, told me about this gem, so Matt and I took advantage of our weekend off from building to explore the area and enjoy the sunshine. 🚴‍♀️

We started our ride at Covington Recreation Complex, which had ample parking.  From there, we biked to the official Tammany Trace Covington Trailhead and saw decorations for Mardi Gras already set up for upcoming festivities.  From there, we biked along a pedestrian bridge over to Abita Springs.  Next to the trail is the Abita Springs Brew Pub, where we decided we would definitely need to return for a happy hour.  The trail is relatively flat and straight, tucked in among the shade of trees and we continued until we ran into road construction that currently cuts off the southern half of the Tammany Trace.  

The web site suggests the closure should be reopened in summer of 2022.  If we had more time in the area, I would have explored the southern part of this trail since it passes through the Fontainebleau State Park where you can enjoy beautiful views of Lake Pontchartrain.  The portion of the trail we biked was in good condition, and it’s a great way to enjoy the area.

Cucina Cangemi

Our Care-A-Vanners (CAV) team leader suggested dinner with the CAV team, so we met up over the weekend to visit and enjoy a meal together, so we went to Cucina Cangemi. It was nice to see everyone all cleaned up instead of in our grimy work clothes. 😆 The restaurant was very busy and featured a large variety of Mediterranean, Italian, Creole and Cajun food, so there was something for everyone to enjoy.  Our server was super friendly, which is typical of this area and made us feel so welcome.  Everything was delicious, and I would highly recommend this place if you are visiting the city of Mandeville.  Sorry, no pictures. 😕

Abita Brew Pub

Before the weather turned freezing cold, we vowed to head back to the Abita Brew Pub for a happy hour after our Wednesday build day was done.  I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect  afternoon…warm and sunny with a slight breeze. 😎 We sat on the front patio, which is right next to the bike path. Matt ordered the Office Party stout, I had the PB & Jams lager and we got an order of boudin balls as well.  

I’m sure a peanut butter and jelly beer sounds weird, heavy, and gross, but it was actually very delicious, refreshing and perfectly balanced, as was Matt’s stout.  And our server was sooo nice! 🤩 She and her partner moved from California to Abita Springs for his job in the military, and she shared her experiences and must-see sites with us.  We all agreed that the people of Louisiana are wonderful, welcoming and lend a helping hand when you need it.  It’s part of what makes this place special. ❤️

Lake Ponchartrain

We wished we had the opportunity to stay at the Fontainebleau State Park, but they didn’t have the dates available that we needed.  However, we couldn’t resist visiting ever so briefly to watch the sunset over Lake Pontchartrain after our happy hour at the brew pub.  This lake is actually a shallow, brackish estuary and is so large that they built the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway to save time traveling between New Orleans on the south shore and the cities on the north shore.  The causeway is the world’s largest continuous bridge over water, and we experienced first hand that the older route heading south is a wavy, rhythmic driving experience compared to the route heading north.  So, if you get seasick, you might need dramamine. 🤢 

NOLA night on the town

We couldn’t leave Louisiana without taking the opportunity to visit New Orleans.  This city holds a special place in my heart with its unique architecture, food, music, and history.  There truly is no place on earth like it. 😍 Previously, I visited in pre-Katrina days for both Jazz Fest and Mardi Gras, and have been wanting to come back ever since.  It was our last night before heading eastward to Florida, so we cut out a little early from volunteering and headed into NOLA on a cool but sunny afternoon.

Once parked, we walked around downtown, wandering toward Jackson Square to check out the views off of the Mississippi River.  On the way, we saw some beautiful houses all decked out for Mardi Gras and encountered a Second Line.  It was also our second time experiencing this fun tradition, the first time being at our friends’ Molly and Joe’s wedding back in Portland, OR in September.  👰🏻‍♀️🎺💃🏻

On our way back to dinner, we stopped at the Bourbon House for a drink and watched a football game.  The drinks were strong, so we ordered some Brussels sprouts as well, and I think they are the best Brussels sprouts I have ever had, I swear!  The sprouts were crispy and complemented by the tanginess of the goat cheese, the subtle sweetness of the syrup the pecans were roasted in, and a slight kick from the hot sauce. 👍

For dinner, we went to Bésame, which serves fresh seafood with a Latin twist.  We were glad we made reservations, because this place filled up in a hurry!  Though their drinks were just ok, their food was amazing! 😋 Everything we tried was so delicious: salmon ceviche, crispy cauliflower, picadillo empanadas, pork arepas, and Caribbean fish.  We were definitely full by the time we left, but very pleased with our selections.  If you want to try something a little different from the food you traditionally associate with NOLA, you are sure to love this gem.

A Trip to the St. Tammany Hospital

Unfortunately, our last night in Louisiana didn’t end so well. I was feeling awful on the way back from dinner and thought maybe I had a case of food poisoning, so I went straight to bed.  I woke up two hours later and my left side was in a lot of pain. 😰 Matt suggested I take a couple of charcoal pills and I opted to take some Ibuprofen as well and go back to bed. Four hours later, I woke up at 2am and the pain in my left side was back.  

I got up to walk around, drink some sparkling water and try to take my mind off of the pain.  However, by 2:30 it felt like something exploded in my side and I was on the floor, writhing in pain. 😫 Matt ran into the room and said, “That’s it, I’m taking you to the ER.”  Once I was recovered enough to put on my shoes and coat, we headed to the nearest emergency room at the St. Tammany Hospital.

Despite COVID being on the rise, I was surprised by the fact that they put me into a room right away, even though my pain had subsided by the time we got there.  They ran a urinalysis, blood tests and ordered a CT scan while I was hooked up to an IV of fluids and given medication for the pain.  They suspected that I had a kidney stone, and this was confirmed by the CT scan. 😲 Kidney stone susceptibility doesn’t run in my family, so this diagnosis was unexpected.  They told me I was likely to experience pain as it passed over the next few days, and sent me on my way with a bunch of prescriptions to fill.  Everyone was really nice and I was thankful to have such excellent care.  We arrived back at the trailer around 5am and tried to get a little more shut eye before the nearest pharmacy opened.

The next morning we headed over to Walgreens to see if we could get the scripts filled and still get on the road at a decent hour.  The pharmacist shared that her husband once had kidney stones, so she was familiar with what it entailed and filled my prescriptions in less than 20 minutes!  I was so appreciative of her kindness and understanding.  If you’re going to have a medical emergency, you couldn’t ask for a better place to deal with it. 😂 This kindness and generosity is indicative of our entire experience in Louisiana.  The people here are some of the most wonderful human beings, willing to help those in need and providing that sense of community that we often seek, especially during hard times.  I hope this is not the last time I have the chance to visit this special place. 💜 💛 💚

My great aunt and uncle Ruth and Sheldon have been volunteering with Habitat for Humanity (HFH) for decades.  When we were booking our winter travels, hurricane Ida hit Louisiana, so we knew we would need to take a pause on travel planning while this region stabilized and dealt with the aftermath of the storm.  

During that pause, we talked about using our time in Louisiana to volunteer, because we knew the area could use a helping hand.  Matt had volunteered with HFH before, so we applied to volunteer with their affiliate RV Care-A-Vanners and were accepted.  Hooray! 😃 It felt great to take some time to give back to a community of people who could benefit from our help and we were excited to dig in.  

They are a Christian organization, and the slogan said at the beginning of each build day is “Habitat is not a hand out, it’s a hand up.”  It truly is a great organization that not only involves the owners of HFH built houses in the building process, but also teaches them skills in areas of finance and maintenance.  I also learned a lot of new skills I could take with me wherever we would land later on.  Here is what we worked on during this volunteer opportunity.

Day 1:

Our site was off of 5th Street in nearby Covington, where three houses were being built.  Two houses had already been closed in with roofs, weather proofing, windows and doors. We were working on the third house, which had a foundation and walls but still needed a roof.  Our Care-A-Vanner (CAV) team leader Darrell introduced to the site supervisors Cody, Jeremy and Tucker and the rest of the volunteers, including two more CAV volunteers Ginny and Jim, and two more HFH volunteers Dan and Paul.  

After getting set up with hard hats, gloves and safety glasses, we got to work setting up supports in the house for a catwalk at the same height as the other scaffolding.  On the outside, we set up “wall walkers,” which are a form of scaffolding that is secured to the walls.  Finally, scaffolding was set up in the main entrance to the house.

Once we had everything secured, we started sending up trusses for the roof and setting them in place.  We got about a third of the way through the trusses before we called it a day.  I became more comfortable with using an impact driver to put in screws for the supports and later cut some boards on the miter saw.  I was excited about learning these handy skills!

Day 2:

The next day we set to work helping send up the remaining trusses for the rooftop, and then it was time to start putting sub-fascia across the outside of the trusses to secure them in place. Then we needed to reset our wall walkers and scaffolding to provide a walkway closer to the bottom of the rooftop as a safety precaution.  Moving everything to ensure we are all safe takes time, so we put the first row of OSB (oriented strand board) on top of the trusses and wrapped up our day’s work. 

Day 3: 

After the first row of OSB was set, Matt and I were put into harnesses, which were attached to “yo-yo’s.”  These yo-yo’s have a 25 foot cable inside and the other end is attached to a metal bracket that was screwed into the rafters on the roof.  Now we had a safe way to walk on the roof, and if we were to fall, the yo-yo would stop the cable from unraveling further and prevent us from sustaining a large fall.  Believe it or not, I am afraid of heights, so having the harness made me feel a lot better about walking on the roof. 😬

Now clipped in and ready to go, we starting nailing each row of OSB to the trusses and I got more comfortable with the nail gun.  The noise hurt my ears, so I had to wear ear protection, but otherwise it wasn’t as scary as I had experienced before.  It was quite satisfying to look at our progress at the end of the day and see a roof taking shape. 

It was getting pretty hot up there, so to finish out the day, I used a palm nailer attached to an air hose.  This device was used to nail in brackets that further support the roof truss attachment points on the outer walls of the house.  HFH was celebrating MLK with a 3-day weekend, so we reconvened building on the following Tuesday.

Day 4:

It’s now Tuesday, and we started with cleanup before getting to work on the rooftop again.  It rained over the weekend, so we had a bunch of water in the house that needed to be swept out.  Once this task was done, I worked with our Care-A Vanner team leader Darrell to start putting OSB on the more complicated part of the rooftop in the front of the house.  This involved more nailing and running around the rooftop in a harness.  It took a lot longer to cover a smaller section, because we needed to make sure our trusses were set the right length apart and the two pitches in the roof would come together correctly at their respective peaks.  This was our last build day on this site.

Day 5:

Today we went to a different build site about 10 blocks away on H Street.  This site only had cinder blocks set up and cemented into the ground with rebar, so we were going to be building the floor of the house on top of the blocks.  

First up, we need to put metal flashing on top of the cinder blocks to prevent termites from accessing the wooden sill plate above.  Once those were in place, we started setting up the sill plate on the outside and down the middle of the house’s footprint, which was comprised of heavy 6×6 inch timber posts.  The men did the heavy lifting here, as each timber weighed a couple hundred pounds, but I helped nail them together, end to end.

Once the posts were set in place, the crew secured the posts with straps that were attached to the cinder blocks.  Now we could get to work on placing joists on top of the sill plate, which were made of 2×12 inch boards.  These were a little bit more manageable, so I was introduced to the circular saw, and helped cut boards to the required lengths.  We finished almost 2/3 of the joists before calling it a day.  

Earlier, I brought an ice-box cake to share with the crew.  It was great timing since it would be our last warm day for the foreseeable future.  Why not enjoy the lovely weather while it lasts and share a meal together?  It turned out really well and everyone liked it, so I called it a success. 😋 Yay!  

Day 6:

This day started out 20 degrees cooler after another night of rain, and it was only going to get colder as the day went on. 🥶 We had two choices: go to 5th Street and work inside one of the more finished houses putting up OSB on some of the inner walls, or go to H Street and continue working on the floor of that house.

We started out at 5th Street and were going to work in the house; however, because of COVID being on the rise, we needed to wear a mask inside, and I couldn’t get my safety glasses to stop fogging up. 🤬 After getting frustrated and feeling a bit defeated, I was happy to move to H Street and work outside for the rest of the day.

At H Street, I worked with Matt on cutting boards with the circular saw and sending them over to Cody and Jeremy to finish setting the trusses up.  Around lunchtime, the rest of the crew came over and we worked together to start putting blocking in between the floor joists so they wouldn’t bow over time.  Because Ginny and Jim had cut a bunch of this blocking the day before, we made quick work of this task.

Finally, we started setting tongue and groove panels on top of the trusses, which made up the subfloor of the house.  The bottom side was glued to the trusses with a subfloor adhesive and then nailed to the trusses.  It was my job to finish nailing all of the subfloor once it was put into place.  This may sound easy, but my nail gun kept misfiring into the harder surface, so I was constantly unjamming the gun, pulling nails and having to redo my work. 😫 At the end of the day, we were cold and tired and happy to head home to warm up.

Days 7 & 8:

The temperatures continued to plummet, and with that came school closures, so our Friday build was cancelled. However, we had one last opportunity to finish the floor of the house on H Street and say goodbye to all of the wonderful people we met on the build. 

For our final build with the team on Saturday, Jim and Ginny brought beignets, and Cody brought hot cocoa.  It was still very cold, but with the sun shining it actually didn’t seem that bad compared to Thursday. We had plans to head into New Orleans that afternoon, so in the few hours we spent on site we almost finished the subfloor, but we ran out of material before lunchtime.  With the exchange of some thank you cards and kind words among the crew, we said our goodbyes.

Working with Habitat for Humanity was such a wonderful experience.  Our team worked so well together, and we not only got along and accomplished a lot in two weeks, but it inspires us to participate in more builds as we continue our journey.  Words cannot express the joy this opportunity brought us, getting to know builders coming together from across the US and local builders sharing their experiences living in the surrounding communities.  The hard work and kindness of the volunteers and employees was tremendous and humbling to witness, and brought us a sense of community on the road. ❤️

If there is one thing that Texas can provide you, it’s variety.  It is a very large state, and the land changes significantly between the high desert country in West Texas, the hill country and plains in central Texas and the Gulf Coast to the south, just to highlight a few.  You can spread out in wide open spaces, live in a densely populated city or anything in between.  Another tidbit we learned is that Texas is fast becoming one of the top 10 producers of wine in the country. 

What should you consider if you find yourself looking at this large state as a potential future home?  Climate, population density, traffic, taxes, cost of living, access to jobs, education, parks and more can all play roles in that momentous decision.  

Climate is definitely a factor and varied widely across the state.  West Texas features a much drier climate, central Texas is more continental, giving you a bit of both dry and humid aspects, and the towns off of the Gulf of Mexico are very humid.  Northern Texas may experience tornadoes, while southern Texas may get hurricanes and tropical storms.  High heat in summertime is ubiquitous across the entire state, but winters provide milder climate compared to the Pacific Northwest, Midwestern, and Northeastern states; furthermore, if sun is what you’re after, all of Texas enjoys higher than average sun compared to the rest of the US.

Population and traffic are also considerations.  We observed first hand that Texas invests a lot of money in infrastructure, so we found it easy to travel on the roads all over the state, but as you get closer to the larger cities, traffic predictably gets more intense and never seems to cease.  Houston is the most populous city in the state, followed by Dallas/Fort Worth, San Antonio, and Austin, all above or around 1 million people.  By contrast, many of the towns in West Texas and the Panhandle are less than 10,000 people.  

Texas is considered more tax-friendly compared to most US states with no income tax, moderate sales tax, and higher property tax.  Most of Texas has cost of living (COL) at or below the national average as well.  I did find it curious that Cedar Park, a suburb of Austin, had the lowest COL of the places we visited at 20.1% below the national average, yet Austin itself had the highest COL at 19.3% above the national average.  Housing costs seems to be a big driver of this, because Austin had the highest median housing costs at $551,200 of all the places we visited in Texas.

Unemployment was below the national average of 6% in most places, though San Antonio was just above this at 6.6%, Galveston and Port Aransas were above 8%, and Marfa was a whopping 12.9%!  Smaller communities tend to have higher unemployment rates with more limited employment opportunities compared to large metropolitan areas; however, with more remote work opening up due to the impact of the pandemic, the affordability of housing and COL might be better indicators of livability.

If you put costs aside, there are many “x” factors, depending on what is personally important to you.  Most parts of Texas are more conservative politically, even the suburbs of Austin and San Antonio; yet, Austin, San Antonio, Marfa, and Fort Davis are all considered more liberal compared to their neighbors. If politics is of no consequence to you, perhaps the quality of education is.  Generally speaking, Central Texas has better quality education compared to other regions in the state, according to niche.com.  

If you’re like me, having access to parks and finding areas where you can safely walk and bike is also important.  According to this site, Alpine and Port Aransas were some of the best bike- and walk-friendly areas, and this site shows that Cedar Park, Austin and Galveston had the best access to parks.  However, in my experience, you would still need a car in Alpine and Port Aransas, and the best park access we found was near Alpine and Fort Davis, but there are some bike/walk areas in the Austin and San Antonio areas as well.

 All told, Texas is a large and diverse state, so there is likely a spot you could call home.  It may be a polarizing place if you base your opinion on news headlines alone, but we met a lot of very nice people while traveling across this vast state.  I personally would love to come back to West Texas to visit again, but I don’t think Texas is the place we want to live permanently.  In my opinion, one thing that this state does not offer enough of is mountainous areas.  Yes, you can find mountains in West Texas, but not in combination with lush, forested areas.  It may not be our forever place, but perhaps the large variety of options it does provide could be of interest to you if you are considering a big move.

As we left Port Aransas, the beachy landscape gave way to scenery comprised primarily of farmland interspersed with oil refineries, occasional wind farms, and a plethora of small RV parks.  We were excited to see blue skies and blue water as we drove over the bridge into Galveston.  The main drag along the ocean (Seawall Blvd) parallels the oceanside beach, with most of the commercial activity on the north side of it, and on the south side is a large walkway and beach access for the public with unobstructed views of the Gulf of Mexico.

Magnolia Beach:

We opted to stay for a night on Magnolia Beach, near Port Lavaca, TX.  This is one of several free beach camping spots we found on campendium.com as we headed east from Port Aransas to Galveston.  Aside from the fact that you can see something burning across Cox Bay near Point Comfort, it was a beautiful spot.  The camping area was very level, comprised of sand and crushed shells.  Amenities include picnic areas near the bathrooms, beach showers and trash bins.  There wasn’t a whole lot to see, but I did enjoy searching for sea shells on the beach.  If you’re looking for a clean, quiet spot to dry camp along this stretch of southern Texas, I recommend it for an overnight stay.

Dellanera RV Park:

During our time in Galveston we stayed at one of the city parks, called Dellanera RV Park, which is right on the beach of the Gulf of Mexico.  It turned out to be a nice place to stay.  You have immediate access to the beach and the Seawall, it’s quiet, clean, and has the most affordable laundry we have seen since being on the road at $1 per machine. 😲 If you want a conveniently located park just on the edge of town, this place fits the bill.  

Dining out:

Gaido’s:  We couldn’t visit the Gulf Coast without enjoying some fresh seafood.  Gaido’s has been around for over 100 years, and has a substantial dining room.  Everyone who we encountered working there had a friendly and professional manner, wishing us a happy new year and making sure we had a great experience. Our server was relatively new, but delightful.  We had oysters on the half shell, Matt had gulf shrimp and grits, and I had the special, which was a blackened redfish.  If you like seafood, especially prepared in the style of low country, you will likely enjoy this establishment.

Leon’s BBQ: We heard great things about Leon’s BBQ, so made a point of going there for lunch.  It truly is a hole in the wall kind of place, but the BBQ has good flavor, the sides were all very good, the service was excellent, and we even got to meet Leon himself.  A table of 10 people came in visiting from Wisconsin, and they wanted to get some T-shirts with the Leon’s BBQ logo on them.  The lady serving them said she thought they were ugly shirts, but said she would round some up for them. 😂 Leon came out to personally greet the guests and gave them the shirts for free.  Leon is a military veteran who proudly wears his retired veteran hat and seemed to genuinely want to meet the people who come through the doors of his restaurant.  It was a fun experience, for sure.

BLVD Seafood: Our last night out, we simply couldn’t resist getting some more seafood while on the coast.  BLVD Seafood is a casual restaurant, but with great food and a decent wine selection.  I chose to eat a variety of appetizers, including their crab cake, seafood chowder, and house salad.  The crab cake was quite large… though I wish there was more of the accompanying dressing to provide a little more tanginess.  I added a dash of lemon juice, but it needed more.  The chowder was very rich, but had a little bit of variety: clam, fish, and shrimp.  The house salad had strawberries, pecans, goat cheese, and a fig vinaigrette, which I enjoyed.  Sorry, but I have no photos for this one.

Matt had their seafood sampler, which included grilled shrimp, sautéed redfish, scallops, a potato gratin, and green beans.  He really enjoyed it all, but did think the potatoes were pretty thick to still be called a gratin.  Finally, we decided to split their key lime parfait…it was mostly whipped cream, but considering we didn’t need a lot of dessert, it was just right for us.  Overall, I enjoyed this place a little more than Gaido’s and would recommend it.

Historic Galveston:

We were pleasantly surprised when driving into Galveston at how beautiful is was.  Despite the fact that Galveston suffers the wrath of a tropical storm or hurricane every 10 years or so, many of its historic buildings have remained intact.  Indeed, in 1900 it was the site of landfall for the deadliest natural disaster on record in the US taking the lives of approximately 6,000 to 12,000 people as it crossed the US eastward and exited up near Maine a week later.

Despite the devastation of this storm, Galveston rebuilt the city, and fortified it with a seawall that spans 10 miles, is 16 feet tall and 16 feet wide.  We stayed less than a quarter mile from the Seawall, so I got out to walk parts of it nearly every day.  The city is working on replacing large pieces of granite stone that break the waves near the Seawall and other projects to improve the waterfront. I appreciate the fact that this area and the beaches to the east of it are still accessible by the public to enjoy.  

Furthermore, they added fill to raise the city’s elevation anywhere from 1 to 11 feet higher and raised all of the buildings in the process.  The area’s resilience and determination are impressive, so today numerous beautiful buildings remain to be admired, many of which are Victorian-style architecture.  In fact, they have the largest concentration of historic Victorian houses in the US.  

We walked through the area near Pier 21 called The Strand and later strolled through the East End Historic District, seeing buildings dating as far back as 1850.  Many of them have been registered and are identified with historic markers.  We saw these houses in varying states of repair or disrepair, decorated with grand flourishes or needing a massive amount of work, and everywhere in between.  It was lovely to walks these historic streets during our stay.

The Bryan Museum:

On one of the stormy days, we took our exploration indoors, visiting the Bryan Museum, which was formerly a home for orphans.  The grounds are also home to a butterfly garden and beautiful conservatory.  Upon entering, we were introduced to a summary history of Texas and much of the western states via a short video.  

From there we walked through the rooms on the first floor, seeing artifacts from indigenous tribes, missionaries and churches, armies, and cowboys.  There were lots of firearms and artists’ work to admire, and a quirky basement tour with more information on the building itself, but it was also oddly decorated with a hidden grotto and undersea-themed room for kids.  The second floor featured artwork from the famous Andy Warhol, renowned artist Jose Cisneros and several others.  I admit that I am not a frequent patron of museums…I get overwhelmed by so much information at once and simply cannot retain it all.  However, I did like the variety of items on display and recommend visiting if you are in Galveston.  

After such a lovely time in Galveston, we were sad to go, yet excited about our next endeavors.  This marked the end of our travels through Texas.  We headed inland toward Lake Charles, Louisiana on our way to Madisonville, which is just outside of New Orleans. Over the following two weeks, we will be taking a break from our explorations and participating in a Habitat For Humanity build.  Stay tuned for more about the build, but for now, goodbye y’all. 🤠