We wish you all a very happy holiday season! Traveling via RV over the holidays is not a whole different than being at home. There are decorations, parties, lots of food, and the spirit of the season everywhere you look. While we do miss being with our families and friends this year, we celebrated in our own way.
Since the day after Thanksgiving we’ve had our little traveling Christmas tree adorning our dining room table. Garland frames our fireplace and other little decorations dot the RV. We even have a light show outside every evening.
Our camper-decorated treeFireplace garlandOutdoor decorations Cozy as home
Our newest yard flag, a staple in campsite decorations, has been a hit…at least with us! Anyone else a fan of the movie Christmas Vacation?
Steve and his Runza Christmas sweater and his new yard flag
We are not the only ones who decorate for the season. Here are a few examples of how other campers have expressed their creativity and festive spirit around the campground.
Note the pretty tree inside the clam Lots of lights Tiny tree on the picnic tableOur neighbors at the KOA won “best decorated site” award
We spent Christmas at the beautiful, newly renovated KOA in Sugarland Key, about 20 miles north of Key West. The resort goes all out for the holidays and works hard to bring campers together. We spent Christmas day in the covered bar area, sharing a potluck meal with campers from all over. Our German table mates kept us entertained most of the afternoon with great travel-related conversation. The events culminated in a left-right gift exchange in which we both walked away with some fun goodies.
Potluck just getting startedLeft-right gift exchange
The weather continues to be hit or miss. In fact, on Christmas day it rained over four inches! But we awoke the next day to blue skies, perfect for kayaking and biking! We asked Santa for more sunny days ahead!
Again, we’re wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
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!
Our ride to Frozen NiagaraNice hikes in the national park
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.
Possum or Opossum?Maybe a cottonmouth?Our favorite alligator
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!
Happy Thanksgiving!Side dish tableDessert tableOur new friendsThis was the second helping!
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 lynchingsBeautiful memorialGrounds of the memorial
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.
The sun came outAnd he crosses the finish line inside
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.
US Space and Rocket CenterReady for blastoff!Getting ready to ride the Moon ShotBike ride around the Space and Rocket Center
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!
Marnie and Steve Travel 