RV Living in the Southeast

December 17, 2023 / marniesteve / Leave a comment

It’s been a while since we posted a travel blog. It’s not that we aren’t traveling. No, we are certainly covering some miles and having adventures here and there, but mostly we are living in our RV while working our way as far south as we can for the winter.

We last left you in Lexington, Kentucky where we were taking in Horse and Bourbon Country. Since then we stopped at Mammoth Cave National Park to explore the world’s longest cave. Did you know that this one cavern spans over 400 miles, and cave experts continue to find new passageways every year? It’s hard to get good photos underground, but we were there!

From cave country we moved south a few hours and spent a weekend in Nashville. We passed on visiting Broadway and all the bars, but we did catch a fun Eagles tribute band at one of Nashville’s renowned live music venues, 3rd and Lindsley.

From Nashville we headed to Gulf Shore, Alabama and one of our favorite state parks. Gulf State Park has an incredible campground, miles and miles of trails, and a beautiful white sand beach. We saw cool creatures and nice sunsets almost every day.

Unfortunately, we encountered quite a bit of rain (over 3 inches one day!) and not the greatest weather overall. That just meant we had more opportunities to visit one of our favorite bars, the Florabama.

In fact, we spent our Thanksgiving at the Florabama with hundreds of others who shared in the spirit of thanks. We met other fun people, enjoyed great live music, and partook in one of the largest potlucks we’ve ever seen! While being with family would have definitely beat it, it was a great second option!

Another adventure while in Gulf Shores was a visit to the USS Alabama Battleship. Located in Mobile Bay the large ship began her work in WWII, earning nine battle stars for meritorious service. She’s now a National Historic Landmark and provides visitors nearly unrestricted access. We had a blast exploring the bridge, the brig, and all points in between.

After two weeks at Gulf State Park we headed north again, with a stop in Montgomery to visit the Legacy Museum and Memorial. This beautiful, new facility presents the history of slavery from the international slave trade through current day mass incarceration. It was eye-opening and sobering and if you are in Montgomery and have a little time, we highly recommend it.

Wandering the county displays of recorded lynchings

Next stop was Huntsville, Alabama for Steve’s latest marathon. He completed the Rocket City Marathon with an indoor finish on a cool, rainy morning and can now cross Alabama off the list of states.

In Huntsville we visited the Space and Rocket Center featuring the Saturn 5 and a number of other huge relics of our country’s space efforts. The center has some cool artifacts and educational features, and we enjoyed our morning exploring the rockets and planetarium.

While in Huntsville we experienced swarms of lady bugs in the forest behind our camper, and now we are learning how to eradicate those suckers from an RV. When you travel in your home, the challenges never end!

We’re now headed to the Keys for Christmas and New Years and hoping for better weather. Today, in Jupiter, Florida, where we are camped, we are bracing for up to five inches of rain and wind gusts up to 50mph tonight. We are hopeful it clears up enough on tomorrow to make our way south.

So, while the weather has not been too cooperative lately, we continue to enjoy our time in the RV, exploring new neighborhoods and basically just living. All is well!

Childhood Memories Ignited in Louisville

November 5, 2023 / marniesteve / 2 Comments

Evoking childhood memories made our time in Louisville, Kentucky even more special than expected. We came for a marathon, but left with lots of warm feels.

You might not know that Steve’s dream job is to be the shortstop for the Kansas City Royals. If his dream comes true he will no doubt hit with a Louisville Slugger. The Louisville Slugger factory and museum introduced us to the process used to make the legendary bats that major leaguers since Honus Wagner have used. We learned how the wood is sourced and crafted into unique versions for big leaguers and sandlot players alike. “Meeting” baseball’s historical figures including Babe Ruth and Jackie Robinson reinforced just how influential Louisville Sluggers have been to America’s national pastime.

Did you know big league hitters create a unique template for a bat that works best for them and then order that bat over and over? There are over 3,000 templates in the bat vault from which more unique bats can be designed. Holding some of the most famous major leaguers’ game-used bats left us feeling like maybe the dream is possible. For Steve, this visit was filled with nostalgia.

My childhood revolved around horses. The first Sunday in May was always spent watching the Kentucky Derby with Dad. He would talk about why certain horses looked stronger than others and why the Derby was such an important race, the first in the Triple Crown. Every year we picked our favorites and cheered them on through the television screen. Visiting Churchill Downs was nostalgic for me.

The Museum is the gateway to Derby history

We took the “Go Baby Go” tour which offered the most in depth look at Churchill Downs and its history. With our guide and just one other couple, we had full access to the barns, the backstretch, and all the areas in between the legendary twin spires. In the backstretch we watched morning workouts around the one mile track. In the barns we met the lead ponies and fed them peppermints. Our visit to the barns of some of the most famous trainers in Derby history reminded me of being in barns as a kid. The sights and smells brought it all back!

After exploring the backstretch, we returned to the grandstands where we toured many of the spectator areas, including the terraces next to the famed twin spires. Television coverage of the Run for the Roses often features shots of celebrities in these coveted seats. The views of the track from the elevated terraces are certainly spectacular.

There are many luxury seating options at Churchill Downs. Many are filled with high rollers on Derby day. One coveted area is Millionaires Row. On Derby day seating in this all-inclusive area starts at around $5,300 per person. Our tour included lunch in Millionaires Row, along with a great view of the day’s racing. Our guide even helped us place our bets. We weren’t big winners, but it was a day that brought back so many sweet memories and one I’ll never forget.

In between all the childhood reflections, we put our bikes on the trails near the RV park. We camped at North Louisville Campground, just blocks from the Ohio River. Quick, “get your blood flowing” rides were a nice way to lead up to the marathon and provided some pretty cool views over the river to the Louisville skyline. For those of you into geography, you’ll know that the campground and trails were actually in Indiana.

While in Louisville, Steve completed a marathon in his 32nd state. With an early start, just as the sun was rising, Steve took off for his 26.2 miles through the Kentucky hills. An hour later I started the 6.2 mile (10K) race. We both finished in respectable times and celebrated at the finish line with a beer and a piece of Derby pie (pecan pie with chocolate). The Louisville Marathon was a success!

While our time in Louisville is concluding, our time in Kentucky continues with more bourbon and horses. We’ll provide a full report once we’ve left the state!

Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta

October 10, 2023 / marniesteve / 3 Comments

The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta is considered the most photographed event in the world and we now know why! Warning: Photo dump to come.

Our weeklong excursion in the heart of the Fiesta was supported by Fantasy RV Tours, which supplied our campsite in a lot within walking distance of the festivities, along with power, trash service, meals, and several additional activities. We loved having a close by home base from which to take in this massive event, along with a built in set of fellow travelers with which to enjoy every minute.

Our crew in the Fantasy RV group: Kathi, Sharon, Steve, Doug, Jacqui, Steve, and Dwight

We started this “once in a lifetime” experience with a tour of the Balloon Museum, where we learned about the sport of ballooning including its history, the mechanics of ballooning, and the details of the Fiesta.

The 51st annual Fiesta began before sunrise on Saturday morning where we joined over 100,000 others on the field for Dawn Patrol and the Mass Ascension. Before we got here we didn’t know what any of that meant, but now we do! After making it through the gates we took in the early morning drone show followed by the inflation and launch of the first dozen balloons, Dawn Patrol, who test the winds for the other balloons that will follow.

The line to enter the park on Saturday morning at 5:30 a.m.

The Mass Ascension occurs on the weekends of the eight day Fiesta and involves the inflation and launch of over 500 balloons. We were able to be on the field and up close to the balloons and their crews. We selected one balloon and watched the detailed process of setting up the balloon, inflating it, and launching it.

The Mass Ascension is an overwhelming spectacle whether you watch it from the field, from the borders of the field, or from afar. We spent Saturday morning on the grounds of the Albuquerque Balloon Park and Sunday outside the park on our bikes. Every angle is incredible!

On other days we stayed in the campground and the balloons came to us! Our accommodations in the South Lot were the perfect place to watch the balloons land and chase crews rush to provide assistance. Look how close they got to the RVs!

Evenings at the Fiesta are fun as well, with the evening glow and other activities. During the glows, the balloons do not launch, but rather inflate and then light their burners in a synchronized way. Again, we were able to get close enough to hear the burners and feel the heat. Wow!

The evening we attended the glow was special because they also launched gas balloons as part of the Gordon Bennett balloon race. These balloons run on hydrogen and are designed for long-distance flights. They come from all over the world and can travel thousands of miles. The goal is to travel further than your competitors and as I write this several days later many are still in the air on the other side of the country. Hosting the Gordon Bennett race this year was a unique feature of this year’s Fiesta.

Balloon Fiesta Park is filled with fun photo ops during this event. Besides balloons there are sky divers, drone shows, chainsaw carving, and even Darth Vader sightings.

In addition to the balloon activities, we spent a little time on our bikes exploring the miles of trails that weave through the city of Albuquerque. We also had the opportunity to connect with my cousin Jon and his wife Monja for dinner to catch up on family affairs.

And, when the balloons weren’t flying, Fantasy RV Tours took us to other fun places in ABQ like Old Town where we visited the Breaking Bad Store and Museum, among other shops! As you can see, we had perfect weather all week.

The Balloon Fiesta is all about photo ops, so we’ll finish this post with a photo dump of our favorite balloon photos and a nudge to you. If you ever have the opportunity to attend the Fiesta, jump on it!