Oh my, it is now fall and I haven’t updated our adventure blog since our trip to Jekyll Island, the Okefenokee Swamp and Panama City Beach. That was a wonderful adventure. We haven’t had any other big camping trips, just keeping busy locally. Moving to a new house has been a big step for us and is keeping us quite busy – some improvements and discovering what will grow on our acre. Figs were a big surprise, keeping Doug busy with making preserves, tarts and breads. We planted two crops of delicious corn, were overrun with yellow squash and were surprised with so many blooming flowers and shrubs. And Doug has been crafting lots of new glass sculptures, bird baths and solar fountains, now that he has a new dedicated studio space over the garage. Several new videos have been posted to his YouTube channel – check them out!
We have also been exploring the “neighborhood” by visiting some fun wineries in the Georgia Mountains with friends and family – part of our Brew Crew. We still have a few great breweries nearby that feature some delicious craft beers and food trucks. We went kart racing at Atlanta Motorsports Park with family and had a blast! Jason is head chef there and is building out several great eateries for guests. A Taste of Woodstock local food festival was lots of fun and we volunteered to pour at Acworth’s mimosa festival (that featured a monster thunderstorm that drenched us just as our shift began!).
We did have a camping week at our nearby Lake Allatoona, which was great. Our grandsons joined us overnight and we had fun with the kayak and paddleboards. It might just have been our last camping adventure in the motorhome, as we have decided it is time to clean it up and put it up for sale. It is rather sad, since we have had such amazing, exciting adventures in it over the past 10 years. It took us to all of the national parks we could reach (excepting the Pacific coast), many fantastic state parks and so many wild and crazy adventures. That may not end, just not in this particular motorhome.
You might wonder why this post, given that we really haven’t been camping at the beach, in the mountains, or someplace off the grid in the West. Well, we have our next adventure coming up and I wanted to alert you to what may be posted on the blog by Thanksgiving. To celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary this year, we decided to visit a place that holds a lot of meaning for wildlife biologists like us: visiting the Galapagos Islands off Ecuador. This is a special place that instructed Charles Darwin on his theory of evolution. Our trip will start with a day in Quito, Ecuador before flying to the coast and boarding our ship, the Celebrity Flora – limited to 100 guests and reached by a zodiac raft.
Each of our seven days onboard will include morning and afternoon hikes, snorkels, exploration and discovery, moving between several islands. We are so excited and maybe just a little nervous about this exploration cruise. It should truly be a trip of a lifetime and I hope to have enough stories and pictures to share when we get back. I will take a notebook instead of the computer, so it may take a while to compose the blog … and to sort through what should be awesome pictures and video.
So stay tuned for the big post-cruise posting while you are sipping your pumpkin spice latte and bundling up in the chilly fall weather. Hope to share more soon. And thanks for being a faithful reader. Why not check out some of my glass sculpture videos?
As I sit in the morning sun at the campsite, composing my thoughts, I realize we are already the first weekend in May and out on our first adventure of 2025. It has been a while since posting anything about our crazy retired life – so how is it we find ourselves camping amid thousands of rumbling bikes during the Thunder Beach motorcycle rally in Panama City Beach? Well, let me share just how wild this year has started for us and why this is our first “breather.”
For the past several years we have been looking to downsize our home and move just a bit closer to our grandsons – while also having a little more outside space and room for our various activities and interests. Late in 2024 we found the perfect spot and scrambled to make it happen, while still keeping up with our travel plans (the cruise on Wonder of the Seas in particular). There were also a few modifications we wanted to make at the new house, including a better studio for Doug’s glass art and YouTube video space, in addition to moving our things, and getting the old house ready for sale. It has taken much longer than expected and we really aren’t completely done yet. But here we are at the beach trying to relax.
It has been a great trip so far. The start to this adventure was our granddaughter’s wedding at the beach, for which my sister Linda and husband Norman flew out to be a part of. They got to see our new digs, we hit up a couple of breweries “just because” and quickly got the motorhome prepped and ready for the first adventure of the year. Into the motorhome went food and drink, clothes, essentials, a few boxes of stuff for the wedding and rehearsal dinner, the pets (Binx the cat and Kodi the dog), ebikes, the Jeep and off we went. The wedding was to be on Jekyll Island, Georgia and we had a site booked at the island’s campground. The trip was long (8 hours), since we opted to leave the interstate and take 4-lane backroads half of the trip. But we don’t push the speed while driving the motorhome, so that was just fine.
Once on the island things moved along on a pretty tight schedule, the rehearsal and dinner were perfect events to let everyone mix and get to know various relatives and friends. But the highlight was the wedding the next afternoon – a perfect weather day on an amazing beachfront. The tide was out, the groomsmen and bridesmaids standing with bleached white logs and trees behind them and the barefoot bride was soon making her way down the sandy “aisle.” The framing and location on the aptly named Driftwood Beach was perfect and this rare spot truly let us all get swept away in the moment.
We finished out the weekend biking around the island, visiting the historic area where the millionaire’s Jekyll Island Club hosted the country’s industrialists at the turn of the century. Once everyone departed for home and we collected up a few boxes of the decor we had one more day before we set off for part 2 of the trip: the Okefenokee Swamp. It wasn’t very far inland before we were at Laura Walker State Park on the edge of the swamp. Perfect spot on a lake, with gorgeous weather once again as we decompressed just a bit from the weekend’s excitement. Linda and Norm drove to visit friends in St. Augustine and we would all be reconnecting in two days for part 3 of the trip.
We had a boat tour of the swamp booked the next day with Okefenokee Adventures in the National Wildlife Refuge and made sure we got there early – it was about 45 miles away in Folkson. A couple of school groups were arriving at the marina as we discreetly inquired if they would be joining us. “Oh no, they have their own tour planned,” was the correct answer for us. Former teachers can be so picky about spending vacation time with middle schoolers!
Our boat had only 8 of us, so it was a good group. The blackwater canals dug to drain the swamp in the 1890’s, unsuccessfully, were lined with cypress draped in Spanish moss, their knees poking out of the dark water. Other things poking out of the water moved closer to the boat to check us out or maybe just to meander along the shoreline – these alligators ranged from 6 to nearly 12 feet long, by my estimation. They definitely were curious about the intruders and kept us in sight, sometimes submerging until all you saw were eyes and nostrils on the water’s surface.
We turned off the canal into a more natural prairie setting filled with water lillies, pitcher plants, iris and orchids in bloom. It was really a magical journey. We saw a nest of red-shouldered hawks with the juveniles standing at the edge, another hawk on a crag hunting for critters and a few turtles on the floating peat islands. On a drive around the area we stopped to take pictures of more pitcher plants and orchids before stopping to visit a thoughtfully restored homestead in the swamp.
The next day it was time for part 3 of this adventure – a long drive across south Georgia and the Florida panhandle to our favorite beach spot: St. Andrews State Park in Panama City Beach. Linda and Norm beat us there by one day, staying at a rental just a block from camp and steps from the beach. They had already checked out two of our favorite watering holes, Patches Pub and Schooner’s, and texted that there were a bunch of motorcycles at Patches. Uh oh, we managed to hit here during the Thunder Beach cycle rally – again. That’s ok, we decided to all go back to Schooner’s for dinner and the sunset cannon blast and actually had no problem getting a table beachside.
At the beach it was windy, but the water was its usual perfectly clear blue-green color, with the white sand beach stretching along to the rock jetty. Norm and I were maybe waist deep in the surf, watching dolphins beyond the waves and Norm had his eyes on an osprey to catch him in a dive for fish. Suddenly I was startled by a big splash next to us as two dolphin zipped past us, missing by maybe 6 feet. Norm turned at my yelp to see them and when he looked back up for the osprey it already had a mullet in its talons. “Darn, I missed it. I missed the catch,” he said. Yeah but we almost got nailed by dolphin! The dolphin spotting was worth it. They continued to fluke and splash around, maybe only a wave away from us. Very cool.
Next day we watched for more dolphins and were treated to seeing several devil rays swim by, a bull shark (identified by someone skimming along on an aqua foil), more osprey, lots of terns, a pair of skimmers and of course the return of the dolphins. Great day at the beach topped off with dinner at Sharky’s on the beach. Of course I had to have the grouper sandwich and we made sure to bring our souvenir cups along so we paid the refill price for drinks. OMG we sound like old people. The drive along the beach to and from the restaurant was a big show of bikes in every sort of color, style and sound. Lots of fun.
Unfortunately, the big day for the rally was Saturday and it rained pretty hard on and off into the night. Norm and Linda flew out and back to California late in the afternoon and we stayed dry in the motorhome, reading, making a quick trip to Walmart and planning the next few days here at the beach.
On our last visit to this state park in the fall we noted the improvements being made – repaving the main roads and a parallel bike lane. Well they still haven’t finished, particularly the entrance area of the park, and the road to the beach access is now a one way loop. Can’t complain about the new paving, but it makes it just a bit further around to get from campground to beach by car or jeep. Not a problem for bikes and golf carts, though. But it is still a great spot to stay, if you can wrangle a reservation.
Well our last days were gorgeous and the water was clean, clear and nearly wave-free. The beach has been renourished, so it is a long, long walk to the water, but our beach cart makes it pretty easy to haul the chairs, umbrellas, towels and cooler. What a great end to this three-stop camping adventure. Oh, and on our morning bike ride we were treated to a bald eagle surveying his territory. Naturally I did not have my long lens on the camera, so I hustled back to the campsite, switched out and got back in time to snap a few shots. Still not as crisp as I would like, though.
Our journey back home runs about 6 – 7 hours, with a time change back to eastern from central time zone, losing another hour. That usually puts us in Atlanta rush hour traffic, so we break it up with one more night near Columbus or Eufaula. This time we stayed in FDR State Park at a nice spot beside the lake … with an overnight rainstorm. Ah well. Out early and back home in 2 hours we are now unpacking and planning the next outing. I think it will be a week at the lake near us this summer, with the grandsons staying over for a night or two.
Thanks for joining us on the journey and stay tuned for more adventures. Be sure to visit Doug’s glass artist pages on YouTube for some summer garden decor ideas or learn how to bake your own sourdough! Adventures with Doug & Jackie – YouTube Until the next adventure!
It was time to leave the bourbon sampling behind and head out to Carter Caves State Park, just east of Lexington. To update you on the gasoline situation and check engine light, my next fill-up was with a higher octane gas and another can of high mileage Seafoam cleaner and the engine seems to be running just fine. I believe the source of the problem was a low octane gas from Buc-ee’s that caused the problems. We did just fine on the drive to Carter Caves.
Our camping spot this time is at Carter Caves State Resort Park, arriving on a Saturday. The excitement here is for the caves and hiking trails. We wound ourselves along a pretty narrow road, creek on one side, wall of limestone on the other and plenty of cars heading past us. Seems awfully busy for a rather remote spot in the Daniel Boone National Forest. Arriving in the campground explained things, it was loaded with trailers, trucks and kids and bikes and more kids and more bikes … wow. Fortunately our spot was a pull thru but once we unhooked the Jeep we decided it would be a better back-into spot. Very tight quarters among the pickups and trailers. Let’s hope things change by Monday morning. We leave on Tuesday.
At the Welcome Center we learned there was an afternoon tour of X Cave, so we booked it, changed into the proper shoes and sweatshirts and followed the guide into the very cold cave. X Cave is so named because you can traverse two passageways that cross in the middle, each one passes through the hill, so you enter, cross, exit the back, then return back into the cave to walk the other passage. The cave was a dry cave with very few drip stones but some nice formations and pretty easy walking, if narrow. It had lights added and some modifications made in the 40’s and 50’s to make passage easier (you used to have to climb a rope ladder to get to the entrance). Even though not pristine, these are very cool caves.
As we drove back to camp I spotted some distinctive black and white birds that compelled me to grab the camera and walk back to catch them. Not much luck, so back to the campsite I went. Our neighbor noticed the camera and said “you looking for those woodpeckers?” “Yes, but no luck,” I replied. “Well they’ve been busy all day in the tree above you.” What?? Sure enough, a pair of red-headed woodpeckers were digging a nest into the upper trunk of the tree – right above us. So, I was able to get a few good shots. Nice bird.
Gorgeous sunny weather meant the temperature climbed into the 80’s, then dipped down pretty cool at night. I feel like we have traveled back in seasonal time, too, since the leaves here are just coming out – mostly a lot of oaks with pollen (I thought we were done with that). Back home we went through this about 2 – 3 weeks ago.
Sunday morning we booked an early tour of another cave, Cascade Cave. This cave had some water dripping and flowing into it, with a few more formations and several large rooms. We saw some small bats along the way and got a pretty good picture of one hanging tight to the ceiling. Maybe the size of a large prune. Excellent hike though. Video of the two caves is posted here: Hiking Carter Caves
We also hiked short distances to see some of the natural bridges here in the park. Some of them are huge, wide and tall tunnels through the rock, one seemed ready to fully collapse, with stacks of shale looking more like stacks of books. One has the roadway crossing above. Lots of wildflowers blooming, most of which I remember, some ID eludes me (and I left our books at home). All of them look very cool up close. I found out the lodge on property had pretty good WI-FI so I was able to upload the first part of the blog for you to read.
Tonight is steaks on the grill and some bourbon drinks sitting out in the very nice evening while we watch the campground empty out. It is about 90% empty now, as the weekenders head home. Much quieter and relaxing.
Monday morning was our day to try another cave, self-guided Horn Hollow Cave. We needed a permit to hike this, so at the Welcome Center we filled out the form as the ranger asked “You have flashlights?” Yes. “You know about the water, right?” No, what water? It seems a creek runs through this cave, from ankle to mid calf deep, and we needed to rethink our shoes and pants. Back to the campsite to put on shorts and pack some water shoes. Now we were set to begin the hike to the cave, up and around some boulders, cliff faces and such, pretty much up most of the way until we slipped down to a dry creek bed where the cave entrance beckoned. We changed into the water shoes, got our flashlights ready and I put my GoPro on a headband mount. Ready!
Well, when you are the only ones entering a dark, wet cave, it’s a bit intimidating. And the water was COLD. Left? Right? Let’s follow the flow of the water to the right. It was pretty low in spots, but plenty wide and the flashlights were a big help, obviously. A small fish and a crayfish were spotted in the water, but no bats around. After about a quarter mile through the cave, the water began to run downward through a smooth channel and we were quite suddenly at the other end of the cave. How cool was that? So now what? We didn’t see an obvious trail out of the stream bed, so we opted to retrace our steps and go back where we entered. Changed back into our hiking shoes, had some water and granola bars and rejoined the trail back to the car. Altogether it was about a 2 mile hike, but once again an uphill climb awaited us just before the end. A video of the cave portion of the hike is posted here: Horn Hollow Cave
Ok, back at camp and time to chill for the rest of the afternoon. In the morning we will pack up and drive to Hocking Hills State Park in Ohio for more trails and caves and maybe another week earlier in the spring! Keep an eye out for more of the adventure, and try to look at these pics on a big screen.
Packed and ready to roll the coach on our fall adventure out West! If you are a motorhome traveler you know the drill. For the rest of you, let me recap how a motorhome trip is different from packing the car for a week at the beach. Remember, you are taking a small house with all its onboard systems, so your pre-trip checklist includes:
Plumbing and sewer
You need some fresh water in the tank, but not too much, since you don’t want to haul extra weight. Once you get to a campsite with city water you can connect with a hose and run from that. A small pressure regulator is important so you protect against high water pressure damage. You have to be sure to switch to city water service, not tank fill, otherwise you will discover (as I did in Florida) water pouring out of your overflow hose under the RV about 10 minutes later.
Greywater and blackwater tanks should be empty to start. The lowest sensors in our black tank don’t seem to register, so we are going to pour a solution of borax, water and dish soap into the toilet at the start of the trip to clean them. A bag of ice down the toilet to rattle around while traveling (as recommended) didn’t really do the trick the last trip. You should keep some water in the toilet bowl to block odors (like any p-trap at home). You need your sewer hose and connectors.
Power
You have a generator, which should be in good working order, for the times when you are boondocking. Boondocking or dry camping is when you don’t have any water or electric hookups available. Also you have two sets of batteries: house and engine. Even though they connect and can help spread the charge, you want all of them charged and ready. We have a small solar panel that adds a trickle charge. Be sure you have a surge protector for your electric cord (shoreline).
LP gas tank got filled last week. With our system, you can power your fridge with shoreline electric (when you are hooked up to electric at home or camp) or run off the LP gas, or run off house batteries (or run the generator while on the move or when boondocking). I pre-chilled the fridge in the driveway before stocking it with food.
LP gas can also be used for cooking on the stovetop and oven and it is a source of power for the heater if you can’t run the generator (campgrounds often have quiet hours after 10 pm).
Hey out there, did you pack the cat food?
Hydraulics
Our motorhome has four hydraulic leveling jacks that are used in combination with jack pads and chocks to level the motorhome. The pistons need to be clean and sprayed with a dry silicone lubricant so they will completely retract when it is time to break camp.
Tires, oil, coolant, wipers, running lights
Since you are also a motor vehicle, every part of the engine and wheels needs preventive maintenance. Tire inflation pressure is important and can vary with the amount of weight you are carrying. Tires on motorhomes wear more than the mileage would indicate, (UV damage and dry rot as I learned on our Florida trip) so you need to keep an eye on their condition.
Kitchen
And of course you need all the pots, pans, dishes, utensils, grill and pantry for your camp menu.
Linens
This motel doesn’t come with maid service, so you need sheets, blankets, pillows and towels.
Planning to add more states to our camping map.
But now it is all packed, the tow dolly is ready for the car to be strapped on and we’ll head out. First stop will be in Alabama just northwest of Birmingham on Smith Lake for a night. Then on to Memphis for a stopover.
If you want to follow our progress, check back often or click the “follow” link.
Adventures with Doug and Jackie 
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