This is Not Camping!!!: April 2014

We have been traveling in the RV for a little over a year now. It truly is home now. We traveled by car for about three months before buying the RV, and enjoyed that almost as much. That could never be home for us though. We like to have our "stuff" around us, and I like to cook waaaayyy too much to stay in hotels. Even when they have kitchenettes, it's just not the same.

While our goal is to see all 50 states, so far we have only been in 24 with the RV. There are other states that we have traveled to previously, so they have kind of fallen to the bottom of the list

Unfortunately, I wish we had started this a couple years earlier. I'm not quite feeling as well as I was when we first started. For every good day, I seem to have 2-4 bad days; depends on how I spend the good day. Believe me, I am trying to make the most out of each day that I feel good enough, but I end up paying for it with the bad days. Financially, the money has gone a bit quicker than expected. For these reasons, we have returned to New Jersey where Jeff will work at the bike shop for the summer and I will try to rest and relax and prepare to travel again in the fall. I guess we truly have become snowbirds, because the thought of a northern winter makes me very, very sad.

We traveled along the Gulf Coast from Florida to Texas, with stops in Gulf Shores, Alabama, Biloxi, Mississippi and New Orleans. We spent 10 days between Galveston and Houston before moving up to Austin for a week. Water fascinates me. Jeff has always been more of a mountain person, but I love the peace and serenity of the sea, as well as the fury and anger during a storm.

Car ferry across Mobile Bay

Mobile Bay


Blue Angels Museum, Pensacola, Florida

Sunset on Perdido Bay


Gulf Coast from Biloxi MS

A few years ago, we took a Caribbean cruise and opted for the shore excursion that took us parasailing. I fell in love with flying. I used the experience in my visualization exercises for months afterward. We knew that we wanted to do it one more time and I thought the Gulf of Mexico would be a cool place to fly again. We did it back on March through Caribbean Breeze out of Galveston. It was just as great as last time. I have to say the Caribbean was more beautiful but the experience was still amazing...and this time I wasn't nervous about it. Did I mention I have a HUGE fear of heights and I don't know how to swim? It looks like it should be harder than it is, but despite all my physical issues, I can still fly pretty easily. The staff at Caribbean Breeze was awesome and accommodating. We shared the boat with a newlywed couple that had never flown before. They were nice yet not intrusively friendly.

You can see our para-sailing trip through this link, or the posting from 3/21.

http://thisisnotcamping.blogspot.com/2014/03/para-sailing-video.html?spref=fb

I'm hoping I can visualize off that for several months.

We spent 8 days in Austin. Although we have encountered friends on our travels, this was the first time we actually visited friends in their "new" home town. Steve and Amy have a wonderful family and they made us feel so welcome. Steve is an avid mountain biker and was happy to show Jeff his favorite Austin trails. Amy and I went to the Zilker Park Garden Festival with the two girls, Abigail and Madeleine. Poor Riley was ill that day; I really missed him. Austin is an amazing city. So much music and the growth of the arts in the city is spectacular. But it's fairly new growth, so there is a definite lack of "urban jerks". I have to admit, we totally hated the traffic. Almost any time of day it was far too reminiscent of Route 80 at rush hour.

Fairy House at Zilker Park

Steve and Amy also made sure we experienced epic Texas BBQ by taking us out to Salt Lick BBQ, a family style BBQ place. The food kept coming, and coming, and coming. We also each took a huge to-go container home with us which made for another entire


The first round of epic Texas BBQ at Salt Link

The next day, after the men went riding and the women went to the Garden Festival, Steven treated us to a grilled pork loin. They truly are Texans now, because they absolutely differentiate between BBQ and grilling.

Our two other major treats in Austin were Amy's Ice Creams and Mellow Johnny's Bike shop. I am not much of an ice cream fan, but Amy's had the best I have ever had. I would definitely go again.


Jeff in line for his second serving at Amy"s Ice Creams. And he ate the whole thing!!!

Mellow Johnny's is a very cool bike shop. To be honest, though, I did expect a bit more. It made me more proud to come from the Cycle Craft shops. Brendan has done such a great job with his focus at Cycle Craft and I am grateful to have seen the progression and growth throughout the last 20 years.

Jeff and I took a quick day trip to San Antonio to visit the Riverwalk and the Alamo. Our room overlooked the Tower of Life. What a cool city!

60 ounce margarita on the Riverwalk.


The Alamo shrine.


Tower of Life.

We spent our last couple nights in Texas near Dallas with Jeff's aunt and uncle, John and Jen. Once again, Southern hospitality was laid at our feet. We have not seen these O'Haras in more than 20 years and need to return to spend more time. We took the train into Dallas for lunch and rode the free trolley around to see some of the area.


Uncle John and Aunt Jenn with Jeff on the trolley. So good to see family.

So now it was time to head back to New Jersey. I was exhausted from the flurry of Texas activity so we stopped for a few days near Nashville. Jeff got a good ride in, I got a bit of rest and we saw the Johnny Cash museum.

Now it was seriously time to head back. Jeff made the drive from Nashville to Chester in 2 days, long days. The bus is pretty big and I can't help drive, so driving more than 5 hours in a day can get pretty tough on him.

As of Saturday, April 19, we were back in Dirty Jerzey, as I have heard it called. Time for me to rest and for us to put some money away to try and travel again in the fall.

I will try to post more over the summer. Hopefully, with some rest I will feel better and more able to be upbeat and positive.

My wife has always wanted to be a perpetual student. She just really likes school. So I gave her an assignment to write an 100 word essay about our trip to the Clement Railroad Hotel Museum.
She was feelin' a bit randy and wrote it like a 3rd grader (her words) :-)

"My sweet husband took me to the Clement Railroad Hotel Museum even though I was having a difficult day and taking it out on him. Even though I was exhausted, it was well worth the trip.

I learned about the role that Dickson, Tennessee played in the Civil War. The Union army was holding Nashville but the railroad had been destroyed. Freed slaves and free black men were conscripted to build the railroad from Dickson to Nashville, (not so free, eh?).

Montgomery Bell, for whom the park we are staying in was named, was a big deal in iron works. He had forges, and we know more about forges than Marianne, the senior docent at the museum.

My favorite parts were the sitting room because I wanted to sew there and the miniature train, because, I, like Sheldon, love trains.

The quilt was also very nice.

I love my husband for taking me and bringing me home to bed.

The End"