100 Miles More and Home! -#111

It’s hard to believe we left Bay St. Louis on April 14th - a mere 12 days ago; it feels so much longer! We traveled east, then south to Palm Beach Gardens, Florida and then back up north on Route 95 heading home - well over 2200 miles total. Though we honestly weren’t anxious to return home - we are now! Days and days of driving will do that to you! 

Saying goodbye (for now) to Bay Hide Away

We are returning home tanned with a few extra pounds on us but happy and overflowing with great memories. 

Without our travel trailer in tow- we have a lot less stuff; unpacking will be a breeze in comparison. Our truck rides beautiful with the new tires; it was a more comfortable and confident ride. 

Our trailer all tucked in until October 

The cottage at the campground; a beautiful, cozy, comfortable way to end our season. 

As we drive our last 100 miles through Connecticut and Rhode Island,  Charlie comments how the trees are just beginning to fill out; new buds glow bright green. It’s a return to spring for us. 

Taking a driving break and eating our pb&j sandwiches at a rest stop. 

Minnie has become the quintessential traveler. She has gotten very comfortable and just sleeps on top of her bag on the floor of the cab. She has also been the perfect motel/hotel guest. I tried to book places that were pet friendly but most of the time - especially because it was just overnight- we just snuck her in and out. 

We spent 5 days in Florida- meeting up with family to honor our Mother, Grandmother and GG on the year anniversary of her death and to view her final resting place. We held a small personal service reading poems, letters and my sister asked me to read the blog post I wrote last year about my mom’s death. (Mortality)         We think my mom would have been pleased with how her end of life was handled. 

Unveiling our mom’s engraving 

It was wonderful having both my daughters in Florida and I look forward to our upcoming trip in August when my whole immediate family will be together! In the  meantime, we stayed at a beautiful hotel in Palm Beach Gardens and enjoyed our beautiful suites ( cat friendly) as well as the amenities the Embassy Suites offered. We also did a lot of fun things! 

Back on the road again, we figured we could make it home by the following weekend. Charlie came up with a great suggestion to visit South of the Border ( on the border of the Carolinas ) a well known travel stop - that he hadn’t been to since he was a kid and I had never been to! Over the years, this travel marker -also  known for its funny and inviting billboards- has expanded to include a motel and many other activities like reptile zoo, mini golf, arcade, carnival rides plus tons of shopping! The motel had the best indoor heated pool! We loved it! We stayed two nights - so we had one full day to enjoy the amenities- we had a great time! Plus the motel room was more like an apartment- complete with carport for our truck and front porch! 

And now, on our final leg home, we are anxious to return. We should get there just after noon on Saturday the 26th April. 🏡 

Packing# 110

Today is one of our regularly scheduled Gulf Coast thunderstorms ( or so it seems). Mississippi certainly does not skimp on rain! 

On Monday morning, Charlie brought our truck in for regular maintenance; we love our mechanic shop in Bay St. Louis .  They are talented, reasonable and just the nicest people. 

I knew the weather would be shitty most of the day so I decided I would use this time to begin the packing process, starting with our clothes. As I went through our closets, it occurred to me we definitely brought too much this year! Hence, I decided to leave a bunch of clothes; we won’t need to bring as much next trip. Also we’re leaving our winter gear which takes up a lot packing space; it will be stored in our under bed compartment until needed. 

When the weather lets up, I am planning to do laundry. I brought two storage containers into the trailer ( from the truck) to pack clothes; they are temporarily hanging out in our shower, the only space available where they would not be in the way. 

By the afternoon- the rain stopped - laundry done ✔️. We received a text from our mechanic. It was not the best news; we needed new tires, front end alignment, and a few other things. It was going to be a much bigger bill than we anticipated but it needs to be done! The other downside - we wouldn’t have any vehicle for a few days.  I thought about renting a car - but truthfully- there was no place we really had to go.  I had just food shopped a couple of days prior so we had everything we needed. I figured we could use this time to pack and do maintenance on the trailer.  

The days went by quickly! I packed, cleaned, walked, cooked. We took showers, recaulked seams on the trailer, and continued to get rid of stuff - like my charcoal grill and assorted things that really need to be replaced like mats and a floor runner. I defrosted my outside refrig and turned off. I’ll do the inside next week when we get ready to move to the cottage. I have a minimal amount of food left. 

On Thursday afternoon we happily got the truck back!  As we are in countdown mode to leave, we wanted to revisit places and restaurants we enjoy. We donated money to the Silver Slipper Casino and enjoyed their buffet, participated in another painting class in Diamondhead, Wednesday Mexican Train at the library, and Thursday free coffee and beignets at the Palm Court Cafe. We picked up a couple of cupcakes at Sugar Pop and will probably dine out a few more times before we take off on next Monday morning. We are excited to be spending a couple of nights in the campground cottage while we complete the remainder of getting the camper/truck ready and get the trailer covered. Then it’s off to Florida for five days and home to Stoughton!

Planning - #109

I am definitely a planner. I find comfort in knowledge. I like to take the guesswork and surprise and stress out of my life as much as possible and planning definitely helps to reduce those negative situations. Not all - some things you can’t avoid - but advance planning gives me more options and opportunity. 

This year we are doing things very differently. We have the wonderful opportunity of leaving our trailer down in Mississippi at our campground in storage at an extremely reasonable cost. This will definitely save wear and tear on both our trailer and truck, will allow me to be able to share the driving home, save on gas - though it might cost more to stay at a hotel - and on our return trip to Mississippi next winter (25/26) we can drive my car down, instead of the truck. A lot of interesting possibilities. 

This year also- instead of going straight home, we are meeting up with my family in Florida for my mom’s unveiling. It is even more special since my daughter Holly will be flying in from Paris to spend the long weekend. West Palm Beach is approximately 750 miles southeast of Bay St. Louis. We will be there 5 days. From that point, we will begin our 1400+ miles trek home due north on April 21st.  Our plan is no plan. We will drive as far as we want in a given day, and look for a place to stop. I have a small cooler to bring some food and drink; we’ll keep things simple. If we didn’t have Minnie with us we would probably spend more time on the road and maybe do a little site seeing but after 6 mos away from Massachusetts, we’re okay with just returning home. 

Yesterday, our new travel trailer cover was delivered; it’s very similar to our previous. We feel more comfortable with a cover, protecting from those southern UV rays; it is perforated to allow for air flow. I also plan to purchase a lot of damp-X moisture absorption packets to scatter inside the trailer. 

 

We currently are working on it caulking, minor repairs, cleaning, decluttering over the next few weeks. Packing will come towards the end as there just isn’t enough space to put stuff. However, I have made a reservation to stay at the cottage on site at our campground for two nights which is right across from where our trailer will be stored. This should give us enough time to get everything packed up and organized inside the trailer. 

We have been talking a lot about what will stay and what goes with us.  A couple of months ago, storage containers were on sale at Dollar General and we purchased 7 covered containers to use to store items we will take home in the truck, as well as things we plan to keep in Mississippi. 

Just today, we renewed all our prescriptions so we have what we need to take us home. I started putting items in the backpack we will use in travel for clothes and personal stuff. Also keeping that simple. 

The plants I brought and have had for years will be staying as well; I’ll be giving them to a new home. I don’t think they would survive the trip home.  

We still have several weeks to enjoy our time in the Bay. Just this past week, we participated in another wonderful pot luck and were joined by cousins Sally and Jerry. ( it was Sally’s birthday too!)

We hung out at the Silver Slipper a bunch of times and had lunch at several of our favorite cafes.  

I made a floral headband at the library with Deena in mind and joined in on a game of Mexican Train. We played bingo ( it was Charlie’s week to win) and tomorrow morning will be enjoying our Thursday free beignets and coffee.

We have games at the campground the end of the week and  Fush Fry on Saturday. I’ve been doing a lot of baking, trying to use up ingredients. I’ve made pita bread, biscotti, banana bread and some very bad cornbread I had to toss out. I will  try again with a different recipe. 

The weather is beautiful here now; 70’s - 80. Wisteria are blooming, trees are greening. Though we hate to leave, we really miss the kids,  friends and our life up north. We are so lucky to have two places we love!

Laissez Les Bons Temps Rouler! -#108

We have just over a month left until we leave our Mississippi home; hard to believe we’ve been here 4+ months!  Our three years of winter camping have been a dream come true! Hoping we have many more years to enjoy this lifestyle! 

This year we tried some new activities we really enjoyed!

-Visit to New Orleans -  Though very close to us          (about 40 miles) we generally just don’t enjoy cities, crowds.  However, it was great to join new friends we made this year on a day trip to the French Quarter.  The architecture is amazing and you can’t beat the beignets and jazz!

-Driftwood Craft Projects- I’m a sucker for working on a project I really enjoy! I wound up making three of these and currently working on a fourth for inside the trailer. ( others I made for gifts and one for home)

-Candlelight Concert - This had been on my list of things to do; it was wonderful when our campground hosts not only arranged for this wonderful event but this quartet covered Beatles music as well! A beautiful and memorable experience!

-Painting Classes - At home, Charlie and I enjoy painting at our local library so we were thrilled that one of the libraries in Hancock county offered adult painting as well! 

-Charlie’s Anoles - It’s not a typo. Anoles are lizards or chameleons. There are two or three living in Charlie’s tent for the past several months. They have gotten used to him and apparently enjoy listening to him practice his keyboard. As a bonus, they eat mosquitoes and noseeums and keep the tent bug free!

There are many other things we’ve done like trying new restaurants, visiting museums, really enjoying our time with the grands, checking out new casinos… but probably one of the best parts of camping is meeting new people! We love the friends we’ve made in previous years but it’s always wonderful meeting new people, spending time, talking about our lives and experiences. Life is good. 

Our Wonderful Campground Hosts!