Posts Tagged With: brewery

A Nashville Weekend

Posted on January 17, 2023 by Doug and Jackie

Not Everything Is A Motorhome Adventure!

It’s mid-January, chilly, rainy and a typical Atlanta winter, so Jackie and I got itchy to get out. Yes, we have been working in a few bike rides on the ebikes when the weather allows and a few pickleball attempts at the community center to stay active, but a crochet and knitting event called Jackie to Nashville. Actually, it was her sister who called but the event is supposed to be special for anyone into yarn craft hobbies. Didn’t take much convincing, since we really haven’t visited Nashville in a couple of years. But before we head to Nashville, let me recap some fall/winter fun at our place: Thanksgiving was wonderful with the family. Good food and cold weather that made it perfect for a bonfire at night. Then another Raclette party with our brewcrew. We had three grills going, blew a circuit, ran an extension cord to the living room and kept the party going. Pretty silly stuff but fun together. And an ebike ride with John down to Dry County Brewing for a beer and return trip.

Back to the Nashville weekend. It’s not really a bad trip, even with a quick stop in Chattanooga to check in with Alex, but of course the weather had to mess with things just a bit. The temperature kept dropping into the low 30’s and the drizzly light rain soon turned to snowflakes as we approached Monteagle. That is the first big climb you make up and onto the Cumberland Plateau and it seems to make its own weather anyway. So as we wiggled our way along and up the mountain the snow continued to a near whiteout for a bit, even sticking on the trees and ground. Pretty, but kinda sloppy too. Once up and over the ridge it eventually changed back to drizzle and stopped altogether.

So Nashville wasn’t much further ahead and we were soon unloading our bags at Judy and Craig’s and making plans for the weekend. Lots of options, starting with an evening of pickleball at their community center. We are still very much beginners, but it was fun to play a few games together and meet some of their fellow players. Back at their house we chatted rather late into the night with generous pours of Tennessee whiskey. Mmm, maybe just a little too generous, but in the morning we were up and ready for whatever. Jackie and Judy were to head off to The Big Stitch for yarn and classes and Craig had an idea for the two of us: Leiper’s Fork Distillery.

It really wasn’t too far to get to the Natchez Trace (lovely, winding parkway) and then to the town of Leiper’s Fork. We pulled into the distillery, discovered a tour had just started and hooked up with it in the main barn. Mmmm, what a great fragrance. Probably the best earthy, warm smell there is. Great tour leader filled us with the history of whiskey-making in Tennessee and their operation. I keep learning more about “tails”, “heads” and “heart” and how similar the process is to getting a grain mix to boil and ferment for either beer or distilled spirits.

Not sure I mentioned our fall trip to visit with nephews Adam and Chris and a trip to a distillery in Beaufort, SC: Rotten Little Bastard. Another great learning opportunity about the distilling process, with samplings of course. And we just had to stop by a local brewery later that day along the waterway: Shellring Ale Works. I will post a few pics of that trip below.

So, back to our Leiper’s Fork experience. Inside a wonderful restored Tennessee cabin we were treated to three samples of their whiskey with an explanation of how to enjoy the whiskey properly. We started with a white whiskey (the same recipe, just not aged in barrels so it is clear), their Tennessee whiskey and a bourbon. Yep, definitely a strong brew – the bourbon was a 4-year 100 proof sip. A short stop in their gift shop and we were on our way back to the house – oh yeah, pick up some good beef for tacos later tonight. Actually those tacos were more like fajitas with the thin pieces of strip steak that Craig cooked up. Yum. But we weren’t done for the day yet.

We headed into downtown Nashville for some people watching before an 8:30 show at The Listening Room. We got a gander at the “Nash Vegas” crowd along Broadway, complete with crazy party buses and crowds and traffic and then found our way to the venue for singer/songwriters. It turned out to be a great night of music with the songwriters performing some of their songs that were recorded by more notable country music singers. Decent local beer was served and we had some really good fried pickles, too.

Okay then, we must be done, right? Nope. Next morning, after coffee and breakfast, we played a few rounds of pickleball outside on their neighborhood tennis court. I think maybe Jackie and I are getting better, but we do feel like the t-shirt that says “What’s the score? Who’s serve is it? What day is it?” But good fun and exercise. And another short trip out to Tailgate Brewing to finish the day. This spot had a lot of beer on tap and we all ordered a flight. There was a good selection of sours, so my four were variations of apple, peach, raspberry and such. Actually all very good – but maybe not as special as some of our local Kennesaw brews. Craig was determined that we were going to learn the card game Euchre, so we gave it a go. Actually turned out to be pretty fun and a bit familiar to us as a variation of Spades (which we haven’t played since college).

Back home to some chicken tortilla soup from Judy’s Instapot and maybe a little more of that Tennessee whiskey and we were done for the day. Oh, wait, there was the hot tub. Yeah, it’s like 30 something degrees outside and we are doing what? Well, it did feel good as the steam rose around while we bubbled in the box. Quick run for the towels and then we were done for sure.

Yep, it was a great visit. I debated about titling this “A Nashville Quickie” which is what it seemed like. We packed in a lot of fun on a long weekend. Before leaving the final morning we had a fast game of Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza to a rousing bit of laughter and hand slapping. If you know the game, you get it. I am still a bit challenged by it, but it sure is crazy fun.

Soooooo, what’s next? In two weeks we head to Orlando and Port Canaveral to set sail aboard the new NCL Prima cruise ship for a week in the Caribbean. Should be nice warm water, lots of sunshine, amazing food and cold drinks. Yes, we are a bit crazy but this one is to celebrate our milestone 70th birthdays. Hope to post some stories, pictures and videos of the trip. Meantime, be sure to watch some of the videos I recently posted of our adventures of the last two years (adventureswithdougandjackie). Thanks for visiting and spread the word.

Categories: Outdoor Adventures | Tags: , , | 2 Comments

30A Ok

Posted on May 15, 2022 by Doug and Jackie

Next on our spring hit list this year is a 2 week stay on the panhandle of Florida at one of our favorite campgrounds:  Grayton Beach State Park along highway 30a.  Booked this one about a year ago and were excited to have our good friends Dan and Terri also book a week at a condo in Seagrove, just next door.  We are all quite familiar with the local breweries, eateries, bike paths and beaches, so this should be a great adventure.

The drive is about 7 hours but we thought we would break it up by heading out a day early and stopping halfway for the night.  One other trip south we stopped in Eufaula, AL at Lakepoint State Park, an easy stop.  But by the time we got past Columbus and were headed toward Eufaula and Dothan, it was still early in the day, so we searched out some options further south.  Jackie found Florida Caverns State Park near Mariana and pretty much just along our route.  We pulled up, asked about a spot for the night and were told, yes, they did have a site, but because we were 33’ we would have to use one of the equestrian sites.  Ok, no problem.  Actually, the three spots were level, full utilities and off by ourselves – with paddocks and stalls available if we wanted to hitch our horse there (um, no). But Kodi did pick up a lot of burrs, so he had to get brushed out a bit.

It was still early afternoon and as Jackie was reading through the park information sheet she said “hey, they have cave tours.  But not tomorrow.”  Well, guess that means we have to hustle over to the visitor’s center and get a tour.  Lucky for us the 4:00 tour was the last of the day and we made it with minutes to spare.  Down into the cave we went, 65 feet underground and still above the lower levels of the cave/aquifer complex.  It felt nice and cool on a hot and humid afternoon and we enjoyed ducking and dodging the stalagmites and stalactites.  We have been in several cave systems and while this wasn’t on the scale of some, it was certainly very scenic.  Outside there were blooming columbine, hydrangea and other wildflowers.  As we exited, we were reminded of just how hot and humid the weather had become.  Can’t wait to hit the cool water of the Gulf of Mexico!

It was a quick 2 hours, plus a stop for gas, and we were nearing Grayton Beach the next morning.  We didn’t rush out, but got here just after noon and the site was ready for us.  Full utilities and a nice roomy spot.  Connected up to water and electricity, put out the chairs, set up the screen house (bugs??), took down the canvas roof of the Jeep and off we went to the beach.  You are pretty close to the beach, but it is either a long walk, shorter bike ride or even shorter trip in the jeep.  Ah, the gorgeous blue-green, crystal clear water and sugar white sands were just what we remembered.  Soon we were splashing in and leaving all our worries behind.

We had a couple of days before Terri and Dan were to arrive, so that meant we could check out the local scene.  Grayton Beach is pretty quiet compared to Destin and Panama City Beach, but the Seaside and Watercolor neighborhoods are a destination all their own.  And it was indeed just as busy with cars, bikes and people as ever.  But we only drove through, on our way to check out two breweries:  Grayton Brewing and Idyll Hounds.  Made it to Idyll for a couple of sips and met a crowd of 5 other local teachers (it was the end of the school day) and we chatted for a bit.  Also met another couple who were great fun – we shared stories of our camping adventures, our beer adventures and some “curly girl” hair advice.  

Right next to Idyll Hounds was a new building with a sign “Distillery 98” – so naturally that meant we had to check it out.  Aha! a vodka distillery and bar for Dune Laker vodka.  Jackie forced herself to have an espresso martini and I had … well a refreshing drink with cucumber and something and something and vodka.  It was good, even if I can’t recall the ingredients.

A couple of really nice days at the beach, another beer selection with Bavarian pretzels at Beach Camp brewpub (used to be affiliated with Grayton Beer) here in Grayton and we are just loving it.  Oh, and a helpful camper told us that the night before they spotted a big fat snake under our Jeep, probably a cottonmouth.  Just thought we should know.  Gee, thanks.  Well, we kind of think that it was probably a brown or banded water snake so no worries.  Our site is just steps from the water of Western Lake.  Good to know.

The Jeep has been fun, with the top down and wide open – and I have been putting a cover over it each night to keep the birds off and stay dry from the morning dew.  But rain was predicted and we debated what to do (nothing was the decision).  Well, Kodi woke us up around 6 am with thunder in the distance.  I got out to check things – did see a cool sunrise – but I wasn’t yet awake enough to put the top up.  After thunder and light rain (and coffee) we waited for a break and went ahead and put the top on, side and back windows back in and made it water tight.  Good thing, as it wasn’t long before we had a pretty severe downpour.  

We waited it out and when it seemed to pass we drove east to Pier Park in Panama City to do some quick shopping and especially to have our favorite grouper sandwich at Sharkey’s.  Dang, just as good as ever!  But the gulf was angry.  The storm continued to whip up the waves, rain and thunder and really blow pretty hard.  Looks like time to head back to camp and check on things and Kodi.  Once there, all was well, nothing blew away, the awning was still fine, but Kodi was definitely glad we came back to rescue him!

While chilling in the motorhome and catching up on blog writing and photo editing we got a text from Dan and Terri to say they were an hour out and wanted to meet up at Grayton Beer.  Well, okay, that didn’t take much persuasion.  So, since it is still raining and definitely NOT a beach day, we met up, sampled some flights of beer, caught up on what we have been doing and planned out the week.  Well, Dan declared “there is no agenda” for the week, so yeah, I know it’s tough being retired.

So a recap of the week (which is a bit heavy on food and beer, I admit) includes:

A delicious grilled steak dinner at the campsite for four, complete with, um, three (?) bottles of red wine.

Mother’s Day dinner at Cafe 30A for some delicious seafood.  Ahi tuna for Jackie (and a proper beet salad – check the “Harmony” blog for the story), a spicy seafood pasta for Doug and a bit of a debate over dessert.  More on that later.

A trip back to Idyll Hounds for more beer sampling and the vodka distillery next door for some bloody marys, martinis and frozen cocktails.

A walkabout at Seaside with fish tacos for lunch.  A very cute gathering spot along highway 30A, but very congested with people, cars, bikes, trucks, strollers, golf carts and dog walkers all competing for space.

Beautiful sunny, cool and dry weather the entire week, with plenty of beach time reading and sipping “beach beer.”  The water was absolutely the most gorgeous color, crystal clear to your toes with the aptly named sugar sand beaches.  Unfortunately we have no underwater critter sightings to report, maybe one or two rays spotted moving past.

Dinner at the Red Bar – a famous watering hole in the cute bungalow community of Grayton Beach.  I  had a delicious crab cake and salad, Jackie had some chicken penne, I think Dan had gumbo and Terri had a large salad … it was all filling, but kinda pricey, too.  Definitely a busy spot and we had to take their free shuttle from the parking area.  But we did catch the sunset on the beach. 

More sunsets. It’s just something you do at the beach: watch the sunset from the water’s edge.  By then the sand is cool on your feet, the water feels warmer as it washes over your toes and the bright yellow sun turns orange as it slips below the horizon.  Definitely cool and we tried it a few nights.

E-bike rentals and a ride down to Blue Mountain Beach and back to Seaside.  Jackie has been researching e-bikes for a while and we had the chance to try some out.  A great guy ran a local service (rentelectricbikes.com) that delivered the bikes to our campsite, then picked them up the next morning.  At $50 per day each that was a deal.  We rented RadRover bikes that had rather fat tires and a step-through frame. They were pedal-assist but you could also just use the throttle alone and zip along just fine.  Wow, what a cool ride.  Terri and Dan rented beach cruiser bikes in Seagrove and met us at the campsite.  We all rode a couple of miles on the bike path along 30a to Blue Mountain Beach and then back to Seaside to leave Terri and Dan before we turned back to the campground.  Very cool experience.

A last night dinner at Hurricane Oyster Bar with the most monstrous oysters ever.  Dan ordered six grilled and I ordered six baked with crab and cheese, thinking they would be small appetizer size, but they were a meal in themselves (but I had also ordered a fried oyster po boy, so it was a major oyster feast that night).

Oh, and the key lime pie affair.

I mentioned Mother’s Day dinner at a wonderful restaurant – Cafe 30A – and how we debated our dessert choice.  Naturally, they had key lime pie and we were tempted to finish off the meal with some, but Terri said she had one back at their condo to share.  “Yeah, but how big?” Dan asked.  “Well, you know, about six inches, a Publix one,” Terri replied.  “That won’t be enough, we’ll only have a sliver each,” Dan countered.  So the discussion went, but it was silly really, since we were all stuffed anyway.  I shared how when we were in Key West years back they had key lime pie covered in chocolate on a stick that I really wanted to try.  But we managed to leave the Keys before I managed to snag one to try.  “Oooh, that sounds delicious,” was the general comment.  But back at the condo we had a very nice slice each of the key lime pie Terri bought and it was just fine.

The next day Terri texted us a picture of a sandwich board from a spot in Seaside that advertised “chocolate covered key lime pie” – Aha!  It did exist.  Well, of course that meant we had to arrange a trip back to get ourselves some of that, so the next afternoon we all arrived at Nigel’s Chocolate Covered Bananas to get our key lime pie on a stick, dipped in chocolate.  “Oh, sorry, we are out for today.”  What??  “We should have some tomorrow.”  Grr.

That meant another trip the next day to see if indeed they would have more.  “Oh, yes I remember you from yesterday.  We have the pie today.”  Great, we will take four slices.  Out came the first monstrous slice, on a stick, that was gently dipped into the pool of dark chocolate. “What do you want on the outside?”  Oh, there’s more?  Well the choice for most was to cover it in crushed pecan shortbread cookies, but I opted for toasted coconut.  

Jackie said she didn’t want it on a stick, but they all were set in paper baskets anyway and we grabbed forks to help.  As we sat outside on benches and devoured our slices of heaven, all we could say was how lucky we were that we found a local source for this decadent treat.  In all the excitement I forgot to snap a picture of the pie, but imagine if you will a 3 inch thick slice of pie with a generous graham cracker crust, dipped in dark chocolate that already was crackly and then coated with cookie crumbs or toasted coconut.  Way too many calories.  And pretty much our afternoon meal.  That’s how it goes at the beach.

What’s next? 

Well, a good cleaning of the RV for one thing and a check on our maternity ward backyard to see how many new fawns have been born. Someone said we are headed out on another cruise and we plan to spend a week camping at our nearby Lake Allatoona with the grandsons. Never a dull moment. Stay tuned.

Categories: Outdoor Adventures | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

OK Winnie, Take Us Home

Posted on October 23, 2021 by Doug and Jackie

Up early after a windy night, the temp down to 41 degrees, we quickly got dressed, drove to dump wastewater and hooked up the Jeep.  The dunes were highlighted by the sun but the backdrop was pretty ominous.  The wind was whipping the sand off the tops of the dunes, not a good day to be climbing.

Already the mountain peaks had disappeared as dark clouds drooped over them and tentacles of precipitation (looked like snow) reached downward.  Good thing we were headed south, ahead of the incoming cold front, as a wintry mix chased us to our next thrill – a 9,000 ft mountain peak that should finally be our last climb.

Before we started to climb, we unhooked the Jeep at the chain station (emergency brake fully engaged this time) and Jackie drove to the other side where we connected back again.  Not nearly as tough as we expected.

We now drove straight and flat across the grasslands to Lamar on a 2-lane road with no shoulders at all. Saw a few pronghorn, but little else.  We were pretty much alone, except then an 18-wheeler pulling half a house “wide load” came toward us.  Nowhere to go except the white line to the right and “whooosh” it zoomed past, probably with only inches to spare.  At 65+ mph.  Sigh… until the other half came barrelling down the road toward us.  A repeat of the “whooosh” as we white-knuckled it past, holding our breath as if that would help.

But we were soon in Lamar (home to a pretty large cattle feed lot), getting gas and making a quick stop at Walmart (yippee!) for some fresh food.  The campsite was nearby and what a cool spot.  At Sundance-High Plains RV Park we were given a “deluxe” spot along the grassland, facing the western sunset.  Wonderful.  Electric and water with a nice shower facility.  We are told that pronghorn might be in the grassland along with quail and roadrunners, who apparently eat the quail.  Only one night to show yourself, roadrunner!  Whoops, just as I am writing this a covey of quail ran across in front of the motorhome… let’s see if I can get a shot. Yep, but they are fast runners.

Since we also have great wifi here, I was able to upload two posts to the blog!  And saw a news report that the cold front we were out-running had dropped major snow in Monarch Pass – where we drove through just two days ago, Sunday.  An overnight Monday photo was posted, and as you can see, we would NOT have made it through that pass in that condition.  Yikes.

The overnight temps only got down to low 40’s, but we had some pretty strong gusty winds to start off the evening.  This area, due to their drought, has a red flag warning, which means a high risk of wildfires.  Since we got up early, we both had a chance to use the showers at Sundance High Plains before heading east toward Wichita, Kansas.  

The drive was straight and mostly flat, as you would expect, and very gusty and windy.  We were driving a nice 2-lane highway, which gave you a good look at local life.  The dry, scrub pastures and high plains of eastern Colorado gave way to irrigated fields of hay, alfalfa and sorghum.  It was harvest time for all of that and we saw loads of hay bales in the fields and on trucks, plus sorghum being cut, trucked and massed into huge piles.  Trucks of livestock, hay and grains would rush past (speed limit is 65) the motorhome and those with sorghum would splash a blast of grains on the windshield as they passed, quite a jolt.  You got a good sense of the scale of work involved in making the harvest of all these crops.

We also passed many feed yards of cattle and a couple of processing plants in towns like Garden City and the outskirts of Dodge City, which explained all of the livestock trailers.  We drove through micro-towns like Cimmaron and Ingalls, Ford and Mullinville.  So many have the remnants of 1950’s storefronts, motels and gas stations long abandoned.  One of the little towns had a crazy display of metal folk art that was spinning in the breeze.  Quite the installation, along with some commentary.

Always a Story …

We kept driving east until Wichita, where Jackie called in a reservation inside the city limits at Air Capital RV Park.  This was a well-developed spot, all concrete drives with patches of lush green grass between the slips.  We asked for a back-in site and at the front office we disconnected the Jeep, ready to follow Melvin in his golf cart.  Except that the Jeep would not start again.  Tried the instant jump, no good – several times.  Took out the jumper cables and hooked to the generator to jump it, not working.  By this time we had Melvin looking on, another helpful resident who wanted to jump it from his semi, but it was all to no avail.  Battery was dead beyond reviving.

Well, what do you do?  Melvin said it was fine to leave the Jeep parked where it was, but we still needed a replacement battery.  Two blocks away there was an O’Reilly Auto Parts shop, we were told, so we drove the motorhome there, parked in the next door Dillon’s lot (one of the Kroger stores) and I went over to the auto parts store with a picture of the battery.  Hmm, well they had a battery that was recommended for the Rubicon but which was stronger and slightly longer than the one I had.  But it was at their other location.  Could they get it here today?  Yep, would be on the truck and here by 5:30 (it was like 3:30 now).  Ok, so you will call me when it comes in?  Yep.

Back to RV park, slipped into our spot but only plugged in electric.  I went over to unhook the battery, while Melvin looked on, got a call the new battery was ready, Melvin drive his golf cart with me and battery to RV so we could return it for the core refund.  Unhooked electric, drove over to O’Reilly’s and swapped batteries.  Back to park, dropped battery at Jeep, parked motorhome in site, hooked up electric, leveled and put out slides.  Then I went to Jeep to lift and insert the new, slightly longer, slightly heavier battery.  A passing dog-walker stopped to help me negotiate the battery into place, I clamped it all down and connected terminals and accidentally set off the car alarm.  Ok, it works.  Started up, drove to the slip and collapsed on the couch. Maybe we finally solved the battery problem.

Not for long, though, as we had plans to find breweries in Wichita.  Not hard, as we have driven through here before.  We went back to River City Brewing in Old Town and soon ordered up Mediterranean Pizza and something I loved before: BBQ Mac ‘n Cheese.  Yummy, creamy, smoky flavor that went great with a house Dunkel.  Jackie ordered a strawberry kolsch but promptly swapped beers for the Dunkel (which really was good).  We later walked a few blocks to Third Place Brewing and had one more beer each.  We sampled several they had and then Jackie had a gose she liked and I tried their Red Truck IPA.  Good conversation with the bartender (we were the ONLY folks in there) who was a theater major teaching special ed.  The stories, the stories … Oh to be retired – we love it!

Back in minutes to our motorhome in a Jeep that runs and we are set for the night.  Tomorrow we head to Springfield, Missouri to find an easy spot for the night.

Yes, we drove eastward toward Missouri on the continuation of the 2-lane road from the day before.  Early start, but since we are now on Central time, we lost an hour to start with.  Pretty much the same flat fields to start with, more hawk sightings on fence posts, electric wires and low flying – I think they were mostly rough-legged hawks.  The fields gradually turned to rolling tree covered hills as we traveled eastern Kansas toward Missouri.  It began to remind me of northern New Jersey with juniper, oaks and sumac. 

Our stop for the night was at Missouri RV Park in Mountain Grove, Missouri just east of Springfield.  Actually, for an older park just off the highway it was quite nice.  Heck, all we need is a level spot with electric and water, but this had grass and trees and room between sites.  Kodi enjoyed some “fetch” for a while and I had time to fix a bucket of soapy water and washed down the Jeep, plus cleaned the bugs off the motorhome windshield.  Losing some of the Utah and Colorado dust that is pretty persistent.  And Kodi is happy not to be picking up burrs or spikes on his feet.  Speaking of dogs and cats, both Kodi and Merlin have been wonderful on the trip.  Merlin soaks up the sun on the dashboard (parked) and while on the road, Kodi is great about getting in his crate on the couch and curling up. 

Get up, drive, stop, sleep, repeat.  This last run home is kind of like that.  Our next day goal is just east of Memphis.  The drive in Missouri took us through rolling fields and pastures with plenty of green trees and then across the Ozarks in Arkansas.  Some uphill climbs, but nothing like the Rockies.  Then the drive drops down to the Mississippi River valley and there are plenty of fields being harvested.  Mostly cotton, but also soybeans and some hay.  The drive was pretty easy and soon we were crossing the Mississippi and circling to the south of Memphis. We were soon in Mississippi heading toward with a couple of good prospects for camping.  We stretched the drive to reach beyond Tupelo to stay at Tombigbee State Park.  Not far off I-22, but the final 5 miles or so were a narrow, curving squiggle of a road to the park.  An absolutely delightful spot in the trees with plenty of room and full hookups, so no complaints at all.  Kodi got some fetch time in the playground, which helped get the kinks out from the drive.

This should be our last night in camp, as home is supposed to be four and a half hours away.  I know that by the time we reach Birmingham I will want to just press on until we are in the driveway.  Then comes the task of unpacking the laundry, the fridge, the bathroom — but it will be just fine, considering the trip we have had.  A couple of soapy washings of the Jeep and motorhome and maybe the blower to get the Utah red dust out of the Jeep.  

Last Night in Camp

So by the time you read this we will be stretching out at home, not banging into things, taking at least one or two nice long hot showers in something bigger than a phone booth and thinking back to the many hikes, 4WD trails, jaw-dropping scenery, small towns, breweries and just a few minor “learning opportunities” with overheating engines and battery life.

I really do enjoy posting the pictures and stories and hope you enjoy them as well.  So, until our next adventure . . . 

Categories: Outdoor Adventures | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Off to Florida’s East Coast

Posted on October 10, 2020 by Doug and Jackie

The last part of our Florida journey begins as we head east out of Destin and Henderson Beach State Park to make a brief return to Falling Water State Park in Chipley.  We had planned this stopover as part of our initial itinerary so the trip to the Atlantic coast would be in two smaller runs.  Little did we know we would have been evacuated to the park as part of the Hurricane Sally “drive around.”  So although this was our second visit, at least it was dry and sunny.

 

     

     

Once making camp we hiked a rather long trail to the waterfall again, turns out that yes, there was still water there.  But it did look brighter in the sun and the rest of the 3 mile hike was filled with lots of wildflowers blooming.  Fall seems to be a lot of purple and yellow colors: asters, goldenrod, wild indigo, sunflowers and such.

The trip east to St. Augustine took 5 hours, surprisingly, but it was flat, straight roads with little traffic but rain for the last miles.  As we made our way around the historic district and across the Bridge of Lions we remembered the last time here when Jeff and Vic joined us for a few days and we met up with Phil and Jennifer, friends from home.  But it was in the 90’s then and right now it was 70’s and drizzly.

 

Not to worry, we got ourselves settled into the Anastasia State Park campsite with no problems, although all we put out was the awning for now.  Didn’t take long for the mosquitos to find us.  Funny, we have been watching DVD’s the past week or so, since over-the-air TV hasn’t been available, and one of our selections was the first three Jurassic Park movies.  This campsite could definitely make you think you were there on the island, with overhanging trees, palmetto leaves, Spanish moss and vines hanging from the branches.  Need to watch those puddles for vibrations …

   

It cleared off and we drove to the beach access.  As we did we got a nice teaser (also a reminder from last visit) as two spoonbills flew over the car.  Naturally I didn’t have the camera handy.  My previous visit here was an unsuccessful attempt to get a photo of the spoonbills.  Looks promising?  But the next day, as we were scanning the marsh from the beach boardwalk we only saw egrets and ibis.  Jackie asked an obvious birder (big camera, pair of binoculars) where we might see spoonbills and his reply was “well, they’re kind of all around.”  But he did add that peregrine falcons were migrating through and “there’s one now.”  Actually, we did see another falcon but no more spoonbills yet.

   

     

   

Since we had a cloudy day, chance of rain and the surf was pretty wild, we drove back to the St. Augustine historic district and walked around the oldest city in the US.  Very quaint and filled with history of the Spanish settlement – and plenty of shops for the tourists.  Lunch at the Prohibition Kitchen was a huge burger and beer cheese soup that hit the spot on a drizzly day.

So what else did we do?

One nice, breezy but sunny day at the beach with some wild surf

   

 

 

Another brewery discovery and two flights at Bog Brewing

 

Dinner on the rooftop of the Salt Life Food Shack (yes, THAT Salt Life) and lucked out with half-price sushi rolls and happy hour beer!

Dark night walks with Kodi around the camp, only to get bit by those darn skeeters

Add another brewery to the list: Old Coast Ales 

Beach time watching the shore birds.  This time we discovered that the ruddy turnstones (sandpipers, not a musical group) took quite an interest in us – standing around at our feet – looking for a handout?  Also marveled at how much the sand was covered in shells and bits.

Searched for the spoonbills every day, with no success

Did see gopher tortoises again

And then we packed up for the road and drove to Hilton Head Island.  This was an extra few days we added once we heard from Dad’s community that he needed a bit of help with some essentials.  It took us 5 hours, somehow a bit longer than expected, but where we were staying was a very nice private spot: Hilton Head Harbor RV Resort & Marina.  We’ve been here before and it really is nice – it’s the closest spot to park the motorhome and also see Dad.  So we have the weekend to take care of a few things, meet Dad under limited COVID conditions and visit with my brother Jeff , Vicki, nephew Adam and his fiancé Ashley.

We did manage to get all of our assistive items set for Dad, had lunch of fish, shrimp and calamari on the bay at Hudson’s (saw dolphin but had to run indoors from the patio mid-meal due to a downpour) and met up with Adam and Ashley to see their new home.  Oh, and Jeff got his hot tub powered up and bubbling, so we got some time to unwind.

We finally head out for home as this weekend wraps up.  Watching yet another hurricane (Delta) hit the Gulf coast we are thankful we aren’t still in the area.  This month in Florida has been a bit more rain, a bit more driving for Jackie than we had planned and a whole lot more of Florida than we expected but that’s why we call these things adventures.  Great fun in the sun, surfside eats and new breweries to explore – but it’s always nice to get back home, too.

Are we there yet?

Thanks for coming along on the journey.  What’s next?  Maybe a fall trip to the mountains, a “deep cleaning” of the car and motorhome for sure.  Who knows?

 

Are we there yet?
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Back in the USA

Posted on October 4, 2018 by Doug and Jackie

We left Quebec and the Montreal area after yet again another night of rain.  This makes only one night without rain so far. But at least it has been partly sunny most afternoons when we arrive at our destinations.  And the temperatures are upper 40’s at night and upper 50’s daytime. I keep wondering why I packed a swimsuit… what was I thinking?

Ok then, crossing through mostly farmland, once we peeled away from the outskirts of Montreal.  The road is good and drivers seem to keep to the right, except to pass and pretty much stick to the speed limit.  Imagine that. So it isn’t long before we reach the border crossing into New York. Just a few questions and concerns about fresh fruits, particularly citrus, and we are back in the US.  Not in New York long before we cross over Lake Champlain into Vermont. We stop at a welcome center for some local information and meander down the islands until we reach Grand Isle State Park.  Nice spot for two nights, but dry camping (no electric or water hook-ups).

  

Since it is just after noon, we head out to explore nearby Burlington.  A popular spot downtown is Church Street, converted to pedestrian only and lined with very trendy shops, outfitters, restaurants, coffee spots and bars.  There are four colleges in town, so the crowd was young and apparently better off than we were in college, judging from the pricey shops. We found our spot at the Vermont Pub and Brewery and, twist my arm, we ordered a flight.  Probably the Octoberfest was our fave and a raspberry wheat sour.

Further down the road was another spot on our list: Magic Hat Artifactory.  It was quite an eclectic brewery and tap room, with a sort of mardi gras meets carnival theme to it.  Sampling the beer we found the Circus Boy Hefeweisen and Fancy Grade Maple Doppelbok and Heart of Darkness Stout to be the tastiest.  We met another couple also doing the craft beer circuit and learned they were from Maine, so we learned a few tips about the Bar Harbor and Portland area.  Ordered a pizza and headed back to camp.

Next morning’s task was to gas up the motorhome at a station around the corner.  Everything in the motorhome is working just fine, but the generator won’t run if the gas in the tank is below ¼ – so we got maybe 5 minutes out of it last night before it quit.  We usually try to have a nearly full tank before stopping for the night, but we didn’t find a suitable station the day before.  After filling the tank and backing into the campsite again, we were set to head to Waterbury Vermont, home of Ben & Jerry’s, Smuggler’s Notch Distillery and Cabot Cheese.

Of course it had rained overnight, but this was our first day of rain all day.  Good thing we were just doing the tourist route, not searching for wildlife (no sightings so far).  The drive past Burlington and into Waterbury was nice, but still pretty green with only a few pops of color.  We found Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream Factory, along with the several busloads of others. We didn’t take the tour, but did have a hot fudge sundae in the chilly rain.  Next stop was a “made for the tour buses” spot with Cabot’s Cheese (lotta sampling) and SN Distillery (bourbon, vodka sampling). Not as good as the Kentucky Bourbon sampling, sorry.  But we did stop at a cider mill that had amazing cider donuts … yum.  That was also the spot where a winery had samples and the cider mill had hard cider samplings.  Yum.  I should note that most of these samplings come with a minor sampling fee, which is ok, since we are happy to support the local farmers.

 

Further along was the town of Stowe, you know the one — Christmas cards and puzzles are filled with pictures of this town. With all the gold-leaf on the signs, I knew it was probably the Jackson Hole of the East.  We hung a left and wound into the hills … is that music? Not exactly, but our destination was the von Trapp Family Bierhall, yes the one made famous by the family from “Sound of Music” and run by the family (Maria’s grandson).  It was a perfect spot to warm up with some beer cheese soup, bratwurst and apple sauerkraut. The beer was great with the meal – the Vienna Lager tasted crisp and fresh and the Dunkel was a smooth brown lager.

A final stop in Waterbury was a visit to the Green Mountain Coffee Cafe.  The darn “maps” directions dropped us at a very corporate style building with Keurig/Dr. Pepper on the doors and “Welcome” banners out front, so we walked in, went up a floor in the elevator and looked around.  Ummm, don’t think so. And we sure didn’t look the part. Back in the car we saw a cool railroad station across the parking lot and discovered THAT was the cafe. Guess we slipped into the headquarters by mistake.  Good coffee stop.

Now it was time to head back to camp, but we had one last stop at the Zero Gravity brewery, both for a beer and for wifi.  The beer was refreshing, but honestly it did not have the strong flavor profiles of some of our favorites. It was just OK, but the tap room was a really nice spot.  Back in camp, run the generator, fix a dinner salad and head to bed. Tomorrow is another big day.

Thanks for following along.  More New England adventures to come.

 

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Ottawa and Montreal

Posted on October 2, 2018 by Doug and Jackie

It was nice not to have to get up early, break camp and head out early in the morning.  We have two nights here in Ottawa, giving us a full day to explore the city.  It is a Saturday, so it is even better.  Of course we had rain overnight, but it wasn’t raining yet, even though the temperature was in the 40’s.  We quickly got to town, in fact we almost missed the exit, it was so close.  First task was to get free tickets for a tour of parliament, then we walked around parliament hill.  There is currently a 10-year restoration in progress for the main historic buildings, so you could see some of the restored changes and compare to the weathered look of some of the older buildings.

 

 

After taking some photos of the Peace Tower we walked to the riverfront and then to Rideau Canal to watch some boats go through the locks.  Further along was the Museum of Art and this wild spider sculpture (reminded me of one mentioned in Dan Brown’s Origin, but that one was in Bilbao, Spain.)  Not much farther along was the very cool Byward Market –  several blocks of restaurants, bars, shops and lots of farmer’s market stalls.  Since it was Saturday, it got increasingly busy.  We did manage to grab some delicious pastries and farther along opted for a sandwich and mocha at Starbucks.  It was still chilly and partly cloudy, so the coffee was good.

  

  

Back to the Peace Tower for our tour of parliament.  We got to see the Canadian version of the House and Senate and the Library of Parliament and learned a lot about the constitutional monarchy and the role that Queen Elizabeth still plays in this country, part of the UK.  Interesting contrast to the government buildings we saw on our trip to Washington (Capital and Library of Congress).

  

  

 

 

Lots of photos of stone buildings (gallery below), but it was all so very interesting.  We finished the day with a search for the special Christmas yarn at our second Wal-Mart stop, but no luck.  Wal-Mart 2, Jackie 0.  I also stopped off at the Small Pony Barrelworks for just two more tastes of the sours while working on the blog.  A nice grilled steak finished off the evening as we awaited yet another night of rain (?).  Up early tomorrow for a short drive to Montreal, making camp and heading into the city all in one day.  Should be fun.

MONTREAL

Indeed, it only took us just over 2 hours to reach our KOA outside Montreal, a nice clean spot with many open sites.  We got Kodi and Merlin situated, unhitched the car yet again and drove in to Montreal.  Let me warn you if you are traveling to this city, there is major road construction on the way in and on many of the city streets.  Allow yourself plenty of time.  Fortunately it was Sunday.

We kind of felt like we were in an episode of the Amazing Race, since everything in Quebec is in French.  At least in Ontario you had both English and French on signs.  Not that we find the directional signs exactly plentiful here in Canada.  So we are quickly translating the English approximation for scenic drive, detour, stop, no turn on red, yield … that sort of then, plus still trying to see what 100 kph translates to (maybe 62 mph?)  Closer to the city we were on a wide detour that dropped us in downtown, but there were police lights flashing all around us.  What the heck?   Get this … a motorcycle rally was riding through. – exactly where we wanted to be Lots of police, closed streets and, well, you know our luck and motorcycle rallies.  We scooted around it and found a parking spot and started off on foot in Old Montreal.

The first “must see” building is the Basilica Notre-Dame de Montreal.  Once through the line, we were treated with a beautiful sanctuary.  Impressive design.

  

   

We continued on along the cobbled streets, heading downhill toward the waterfront.  Montreal is along the St. Lawrence River and there is quite a lot of shopping, restaurants, museums and recreation along the waterfront.  While the flowers and artists and shops were colorful and inviting, we were on a mission to find some sort of pub to get something good to eat and drink.  Aha!  Jackie found a spot hidden under one of the old stone waterfront buildings called “Pub BreWskey”  Sounds like our kinda place.  Well it was perfect.  Intimate, warm (it was a chilly day for sure) and lots of beer on tap.  We ordered two flights from sours to ambers to lagers and a peanut butter stout.  They added a special “weekend-only” variant of one of the beers, complimentary, which was cool.

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Food-wise this was a treat.  We ordered two cups of beer cheese soup and split a grilled cheese with skirt steak sandwich, and as you can see by the picture, it was a pretty big portion.  The cheese soup was the best we have ever tasted and the sandwich — yum.  Melted cheese and steak on a crusty French bread, plus smashed potatoes that were really more like home fries soaked in bacon grease and then fried.  Perfect with the beer.

After that meal it was time to walk the several blocks back to the car and find our way home.  This direction we didn’t hit the construction detours, so we made better time.  Wait…. there is a Wal-Mart.  Must stop and check for the special yarn.  Ooops.  Wal-Mart: 3, Jackie: 0, since the store was closed (early on Sundays!)  Darn.  Back in camp we took the dog for a walk, listened to Merlin complain and put our feet up.  Tomorrow is another short run, as we cross the border back into the US and find our way to Grand Isle, Vermont.  We have to dump and fill with fresh water, as we are going to be without electric and water for a week now.

Thanks for following along.  More to come on the journey, as we cross back into the US.

Doug

 

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Crossing Ontario, Canada

Posted on September 30, 2018 by Doug and Jackie

An early sunrise greeted us as we showered and pulled up to head into Canada.  Crossing over the bridge at Sault Saint Marie (oh and it’s Soo, not salt), we looked down on the locks, the rapids and the power canals.  And then we were at the border crossing, handing over our passports. A few questions about where we were headed, firearms and did we have alcohol (yes, just two bottles) and we were waved through.  Wow a lot easier than we thought. Shoulda bought that Kentucky Bourbon after all.

The day was a long drive across the upper shore of Lake Huron and the North Channel, but the scenery was spectacular.  There is so much water: ponds, lakes, rivers, streams, bogs all of which look like they would be perfect for wildlife, especially moose.  We even saw several moose crossing signs, but alas no moose. Plenty of beaver lodges though. We are also seeing the first signs of fall color among the spruces, firs, aspens and birch.  Just some pops of color among the dark evergreens and white trunks.

The first part of the drive had small towns and farmland.  We saw some more sandhill cranes in the cornfields and plenty of geese.  One flock might have had some snow geese mixed in. In some of the farming areas we saw horse and buggy warning signs and we weren’t sure why until we passed a horse and carriage trotting along the wide shoulder.  Neither of us knew if there were Quakers or Mennonites locally, but it seems so. As we got closer to our destination, Samuel de Champlain Provincial Park, the terrain was more rocky, with outcrops along the road covered in reindeer moss and spruce.  Canadians must love stacking rocks, as there were many rock cairns (or totems or hoodoos) on the outcroppings. Some were rather artistic creations, one even had a yellow cape.

The campground was a very nice wooded spot, but the entrance road was way too bumpy – we were pitching left and right and up and down and… well everything seemed to be rattling.  Our site was just across from a stream that ran from a nice lake to the Matawa River, with a nice overlook down 50 feet or so to the water. Once settled in and after a walk with Kodi to find bear or moose (no luck) we sat with our drinks at a table on the edge of the stream.  As we reviewed the day’s travel, we watched several mergansers swimming along. It was really cool.

 

Of course it rained again overnight and the fabric footstools we left outside to dry (from our plumbing adventure) got soaked once again.  But since it was a pull-through site we didn’t have to disconnect the car and it was easy to leave in the moring for our final leg to Ottawa.  The road we travel goes along the Mattawa River, the northern border of Ontario. Lots of water again, ponds, lakes, the river, bogs, several beaver lodges, but no wildlife.  It was an easier day of driving and we got to Wesley Clover Campground, just outside Ottawa and right off the interstate just after noon. Disconnected the car and set up in camp. 

One fun thing in camp are these oversized picnic tables with carved animals on the ends.  It seems that Kodi was quite taken with one.

Jackie discovered (somewhere along the trip in Ohio) that Bernat yarn had come out with special color blends for Christmas, but would only be available in Wal-Marts in Canada.  Well isn’t that lucky for us? So a mission, once we got into Canada, was to find a Wal-Mart and get that yarn. Of course no stores until Ottawa, so once here we hopped in the car to get to a Wal-Mart close by.  Alas, all out. Ah well, guess we will do the brew tour instead.

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Three breweries within 4 miles (er kilometers), so we sampled a little at each.  Covered Bridge brewing had a nice raspberry wheat; Big Rig was a very cool set-up and pretty big, with a delicious pumpkin porter, grapefruit shandy and a porter Jackie liked.  Last stop was Small Pony Barrelworks. All they brewed was barrel-aged sours, so Jackie was kinda out of luck, but I loved it. Sampled all sorts of blueberry, raspberry, sour cherry, elderberry, hibiscus sours, each with a different color and flavor.  What fun. 

Back in camp now, after grilling a nice dinner of boneless chops and brussel sprouts.  Our footstools finally dried so I put them away – which was a good thing because it is now raining once again as I write this blog.  Ah well, at least it really hasn’t rained in the afternoons when we arrive at destinations. Tomorrow is a full day in Ottawa seeing the city and then we pick up and head east just a bit to stay outside Montreal.  Looking forward to a nice Saturday in Ottawa.  

Check back as we post more pictures and stories of our trek to Maine.  Thanks for following along so far.

Doug

 

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Sleeping Bear to Soo Locks

Posted on September 29, 2018 by Doug and Jackie

Sleeping Bear Dunes is pretty amazing. Once we made camp in a nicely wooded spot (meaning acorns hit the roof regularly), we had time to unhitch the car and drive to spots along Lake Michigan (this was a back-in site anyway).  The first stop was the Dune Climb.  From the parking lot it didn’t look too bad, just a big pile of sand in front of us, so up we went. Yep, just like walking in soft sand at the beach, except not carrying the chairs, umbrella, towels, etc.  Well, puff puff, maybe a steep beach. Ok then, we made it to the crest … oh but not really. It flattened out a bit and we reached the one mile marker. But it continued onward and upward. We asked another couple coming back down if the next crest gave you a view of Lake Michigan, and they said “no, just the next hill.”  Ok, that was enough. Back down we went. Good thing, cause my toes were cramping in my shoes from all the added sand. It was very fine and had this nasty habit of filling your shoes and socks.

 

Back in the car we drove on another scenic drive that had some overlooks of the dunes area and then we found the best overlook for the lake.  Lots of sand and a pretty steep slope down to the shoreline. You got a great view of the lake and dune from the overlook, but some folks insist on sliding down the sand and then trekking back up the steep slope, despite warning signs.  It would have been nicer if it was not overcast and windy, but it was still a wild view.

Overnight it rained again and in the morning we drove around the corner to hitch up the car in the picnic area along the Platte River.  Once connected, we walked to the river’s edge to watch some morning canoeists heading downstream. The water was clear enough to watch some of the salmon heading upstream to spawn.  How cool.

The drive east took us through Traverse City (darn, too early to sample breweries) along the lake.  One block back from the waterfront is a river that runs through town like a canal, filled with powerboats and waterfront homes.  That seemed really cool for the summer. We headed northeast toward 1-75, across farmland, and I asked Jackie to scout out a place for lunch.  She found Petoskey Brewing along our route. They had ample parking for the motorhome, so naturally that meant we were in for lunch and a flight.  What a great choice it turned out to be! Jackie ordered a Reuben sandwich and I chose a black and blue bacon burger, both with beer batter fries. Totally delicious food.  And our flights (one each this time) were some of the best beers so far. Two favorites for me were Beach Slapped (pineapple, coconut blonde ale – awesome flavor) and grapefruit shandy.  Jackie thought the brown ale was the best. Good pit stop.

 

As we continued north, the day changed from drizzle to sunny/partly cloudy, but the temperature dropped into the mid 50’s.  What a nice change. Pretty soon we could see the Mackinaw Bridge ahead of us and we were driving up and over the connection between Lake Michigan and Lake Huron.  Cross winds were strong, so we kept it at 25 mph.

Crossing into the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and the rain started up again. However the scenery of farmland, barns, wineries and orchards continued until we reached Sault Ste. Marie and the Soo Locks.  Our campground was just along the waterway, where we could watch the tankers moving to and from the locks. Actually, the waterway is a rapids downhill between Lake Superior and Lake Huron with several locks for boat traffic. A large canal runs through town and joins Lake Huron through a hydroelectric power plant.  

Since there were supposed to be two breweries in town and we didn’t want to disconnect the car, I decided to walk the 2 miles or so to town after dinner to check them out.  It was a straight shot to downtown that crossed over the canal at the power plant, but otherwise a pretty grassy wharf area. Kinda chilly, so I had a jacket over my hoodie and long pants on.  First stop was Soo Brewing – located in a storefront, tanks and all. They only had three beers on tap, so I had their summer wheat. Not bad, but not a particularly “mature” brew. Next stop was Lockside Brewing and Winery, which was really more restaurant and bar, with only 2 beers on tap and no brewing tanks that I could see.  Their Goldilocks blonde was a clever name, but nothing special. Time to head back to camp.

About the time I reached the halfway point over the canal I noticed a large cat running across the road in the streetlight.  Out for a prowl no doubt and headed for the grassy areas. Further along, I looked left to see the same animal running my direction under the lights.  That was no cat – it was a fox. Around the next building I hustled to catch up, then waited, but it started to drizzle. As I turned away, I saw the fox headed back, bushy tail straight out and trotting along.  What a cool sight. Ah, but the drizzle became real rain and I had to trot my way back to camp before I got soaked. But it was worth it.

In the morning we plan to head out early, what with the crossing into Canada and a long stretch of driving ahead of us.  Still a bit leery of what the crossing will be like, but we have all the paperwork and not much alcohol to declare. Next stop, Canada.

Thanks for following us on our journey to the fall colors of New England.

Doug

Platte River Campground

 

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Moving along in Michigan

Posted on September 27, 2018 by Doug and Jackie

Fort Custer State Rec Area

With a nod to Jimmy Buffet, our changes in lattitude have changed our attitude for sure.  It dropped the temperature considerably – we left the low 90s and are now in the upper 60’s.  We will take that for sure.  We are about to head out, continuing our trip north to Michigan.

But I need to share another “oops” moment.  In Wapakoneta we actually did not have rain overnight, but Jackie woke me in the middle of the night saying she heard water running.  Under the kitchen sink water was spraying all over — I hopped out the door, squish, and ran around to shut off the the water supply.  Well it seems we must have had a pressure burst overnight, which dislodged the plug under the sink water filter, so water was streaming out of the bottom storage bin, which fortunately had only the outside chairs and tables.  But it was a pretty good puddle and some mopping up to do under the sink.  Never a dull moment.

On the road in the morning, again with drizzle and clouds, headed up and across Indiana, bypassing Fort Wayne and into Michigan.  We made it to Kalamazoo area rather early in the afternoon and set up at Fort Custer State Recreation Area. It was a really nice site in a pretty empty campground.  We had filled our water tank in Wapakoneta, since this was electric only. Since the weather cleared, we took Kodi for a walk around the trails and nearby lake. We were surprised to see trumpeter swans in the lake, feeding among the pond grasses.  Kinda cool. The fields were filled with purple asters and milkweed stems that were releasing their silky seeds. Not much fall color yet, but we are hopeful.

Of course the highlight of this stop was going to be a visit to Bell’s brewery – in this case their Eccentric Cafe in Kalamazoo.  But before we got as far as Bell’s we found Arcadia Ale Brewing and pulled in to see what they had on tap. What a great spot! The tap room opened up to a wide garden area with outdoor seating along the Kalamazoo River.  Although it was still cloudy and a b