Florida panhandle 2012

Knee is doing much better.  I had to go in for a second round of antibiotics.  While somewhat swollen it is feeling much better. 
Yesterday we were able to tour the Florida caverns state park caves.  We had no idea that there were such beautiful caves in the state of Florida.  If you have never been here you owe it to yourself.come.  this is 1 of the finest run state parks we have ever been to.   We will be back.
Today we pack up and head for saint joes peninsula state park. 

Florida panhandle 2012

Camper down. At jackson memorial hospital.  Iv antibiotics flowing.

While driving yesterday I kept scratching what I thought was a mosquito bite on my left knee. Why this morning my knee was swollen and I had pain radiating toward my upper leg. By this afternoon we decided to go to the emergency room. They put me on an iv drip of powerful antibiotics and 10 days of oral antibiotics. I need to go in tomorrow for a follow up.My wife made me go I really didnt wanna go to the hospital. Hopefully it will all turn out ok.

Florida panhandle 2012

How can you go wrong with bacon for the first breakfast.

Florida panhandle 2012

Survived our first night of rain in the Aliner.  Found another leak  I need to work on sealing it.
Coffee is on.  Ready to start today hoping there isn't as much rain.

Florida panhandle 2012

It looks like it will be raining for about the next 12 to 15 hours.  We managed to get the camper set up an ark ark set up before it really started raining hard.  Leaving the previous auto spell correction as it is because it is appropriate.  Good news is that apparently I have been able to seal to leak since we have no rain coming into the camper.

We are hunkered down underneath our canopy with a pitcher of margaritas.  In spite of the rain life is good.

Florida panhandle 2012.

We're on the road again

Florida Panhandle 2012

The nomad spirit has captured us again and we are off on another grand adventure.   We are leaving this morning to spend nearly a week in the panhandle of Florida.

Our first stop is Florida Caverns State Park.  http://www.floridastateparks.org/floridacaverns/   located near Marianna.  We have lived in Florida nearly all of our lives and never been there.   We are planning on taking the cave tour and doing some canoeing and tubing too.

Our next stop will be St Josephs Peninsula State Park.  http://www.floridastateparks.org/stjoseph/default.cfm   There are miles and miles of pristine white sand beaches and some of the highest dunes in the US.   It should be fun.

On the way home we might spend one night at Manatee Springs State Park http://www.floridastateparks.org/manateesprings/default.cfm   I used to scuba here years ago and have not been here for a very long time.

Packing was a breeze.   It only took us about two hours to get everything packed and loaded.  We are not traveling very heavy as we will be withing short driving distance to stores and the campsites have water and electric ( Air conditioning will be needed).    We added air shocks to the JEEP and the rig rides very level now.   I am anxious to see how it handles on the road.

Check back in the next few days to follow our journey.

Mountains 2012 days 16, 17 18....the push home.

We broke camp from Vogel and got on the road before the heat stated building.   We are headed to hard labor Creek SP, near Covington, Georgia .   My wife's sister, brother in law and our niece live there and we promised  we would stop by for a visit.   We arrived there at about 2 pm to a temperature of 109°F.   Needless to say, we got hooked up to power as fast as we could to start the AC cooling.   Soon we had our camper at a wonderful 72°F...Ahhhhhh.

We headed off to do the relative thing and had a great dinner at the Covington Diner.   Great food, huge quantities with a Greek influence.   A sister location was featured on Diners, drive ins and dives.   Good food, good company, great day....in spite of the heat.   We were located in a remote corner of the campground and no other campers were around us.  As we were driving back to the campsite, it was still about 90° and would you believe people were sitting out side.....around a CAMPFIRE LOL.

Monday was our niece Caitlin's  14th birthday (Happy BD LRG)  We met up with everyone and headed to a shopping district in Atlanta called Old Five Points.   Cool little shops and quirky people, just what I like.   After that we treated our niece (and everyone) to a sushi buffet.   OMG, it was the best tasting sushi I have ever had with lots of variety and flavors.   The birthday lunch was culminated     with a tempura ice cream dessert for the birthday girl,  brought out by a score of Japanese waiters.   It was yummy.

We said our goodbyes and headed back to camp.   It was a bit cooler (95°)  that afternoon and we seriously tried to sit outside and read but soon the heat became too much and we hunkered down in the AC.   Since this would be our last night out, dinner was a mish mash of leftovers from the fridge.   All good and reminding us of all the great meals we had along the trip.  We took down most of camp for our early departure the next morning, showered and hit the sack.

We slept in a little the next morning but still managed to be hooked up and out the gate by 6:50 am.    We hit the road and pressed for home.

Of course the final leg of our journey had to start with a Waffle House breakfast.   Our usual is a Ham and cheese omelet with hash browns, scattered ,smothered and covered.  (If you don't know what that is, visit your local Waffle House to find the goodness within.

A couple of gas stops and a lunch stop near Gainsville (Homemade chicken salad sandwiches) and by 5pm we pulled into our driveway.

In 18 days we drove more than 2200 miles.   Our first major trip with the Aliner was an unqualified success.   I think it would be very hard for us to go camping in a tent again.   The Aliner is the perfect RV for us right now and we can't wait for new adventures.    Pleas check back soon as another small adventure is on tap, very soon.

Mountains 2012 Day 14 and 15

The heat wave has hit!!!!!

We traveled the short distance from Hayesville to Vogel State Park in the Georgia mountains.  even at an elevation of about 2500 ft, the temperature at mid day was  100°F.   Thank GOD that GA state parks have electrical hookups and we were able to run the AC.    Vogel is a beautiful park with hiking and a great swimming lake.   We were lucky enough to find a pull through site and setup was a breeze.   Plugged in, AC on and all was well with the world.

I never stop thinking about improving our camping experience.    Our propane stove uses the small 1# cylinders that cost $2.50-3.00 each.   When camping we go through one tank in about every two days.   By this point we had already gone through 8 cylinders of gas.     It turns out that our propane powered refrigerator uses way less propane than I ever thought.   We ran the refrigerator for 10 days on a half tank of gas ant there is till some in it.    I decided to buy an adapter to allow us to use the big 20# tanks on the propane stove. Result, cost of propane $0.89 versus the $2.50-$3.00.    Now of course I buy the wrong fittings the first time into town which results in anothere 32 mile round trip to the local Wal-Mart in Blairsville.   Second trip was successful and  the stove is working splendidly on the large tanks.

I think I already mentioned that My cousins Greg and Jan, have a home in Blairsville.   I also have other cousins who live  outside of Suches Ga,   Stan and Pat.   We invited them all over to our campsite for a cookout.   We were delighted to find out that  Greg's brother Doug was flying in to help with a construction project.   We ended up having a mini cousin's reunion in the mountains of Georgia.   Luckily by late afternoon, the heat abated and we were able to enjoy a beautifu evening at the campsite.  Brats, sauerkraut, potato salad and of course BEER.   A good time was had by all.  I confess, I never even thought of taking any pictures. Sorry!!!

Mountains 2012 Day 12 and 13

It was sad leaving the Mortimer campground after such a wonderful stay.   We truly love the area since it is so remote but still centrally located to great sights, hiking and waterfalls.   We are not sure when we will be able to return as trips we are planning for next summer are to new and exciting places. (more on that later)

Our nest stop will be for two nights at our friends, John and Karen Robinson in Hayesville, NC. affectionately known as the Robinson's Resort.   We will be sleeping in a real bed and doing a few loads of laundry before moving on.

We parked the Aliner, unloaded the refrigerator and started drinking margaritas while sitting on the porch.   It was relaxing afternoon.

That night, John and Karen invited over Other friends, Judy and Dick Dahl and my cousin Greg and his girlfriend Jan.   We had a great time.  It was like a Florida reunion in the mountains.

The next day was laundry day.   I will be honest that I have used only about a third of the clothes I brought.   Mostly running sheets, towels shorts and t shirts through the laundry.   The old saying about taking half the clothes and twice the amount of money comes to mind at this moment.

We enjoyed our stay but I must say the comfort of the Aliner made pressing on in our adventure that much more inviting.   After spending another great evening with John and Karen it was time to leave. We can't wait until we stay again at "Robinson's Resort".

Mountains 2012 Days 10 and 11

The weather forecast was dismal for our 10th day out.   We decided to hang around the campsite and ride out the storm when it came.   Would you believe there never was a storm and the passing cold front went through without a drop of rain in our area?

Tuesday morning was bright and clear with the morning low at about 50°f.....Brrrrr

With such a beautiful day, we decided to climb the peak at Hawksbill, which overlooks the Linville Gorge (deepest gorge in the eastern USA.)

Here are pics from our summit.

It was as clear a day as I have ever seen in the mountains in summer.  The humidity stayed low and it was an insanely beautiful day.    I have hiked this area extensively over the years and never summited Hawksbill.   We are so glad we did.

We leave for places south tomorrow,  so it is back to camp to start breaking down the compound.  

Mountains 2012 Days 9 and 10

Sometimes a crazy idea has a way of working out.

By the power of Facebook, I have recently reconnected with people I used to work with, Danny and Shirley Foley.   It turns out that they live about two hours away from our camp site in Mortimer.   On a whim, I decided to ask them and their two daughters to join us for a night of camping.

We had not seen each other for 18 years but it was like we hadn't seen each other for a week.  The laughter started and continued until way passed quiet time.    Hot dogs, chili, smores, wine and cocktails made for a fun evening around the campfire. At dusk we headed up to walk the old graveyard above Mortimer.    It was a fun time that lead us back to the fire where we told ghost stories.

On Sunday morning we made a huge batch of my KILLER french toast and bacon ( how can you go wrong with bacon?) then it was off to go hike the the trail to Huntfish Falls.  

Everyone enjoyed swimming in the cool waters and we had Danny take this picture of us in the falls

The water was about 60 degrees but felt good once you were in it.

The hike out of Huntfish is tough as it is about 500 feet of elevation climb in less than a mile.   We then went on a short hike to Darkside Cliff where the first words out of our friend's daughter were WOW!!!

It is an easy hike and the only place for about 15 miles where you can get 3g cellphone and data service.

Returning to camp, we had to take a picture of the camping compound and the great group of friends, reunited.

After the great two days, it was sad to see our old friends head home but what great new memories we created.

2012 Mountain Trip Day 8

Details of a day at camp.  

We are usually up at sunrise.   It starts getting reasonably light at about 5am with the official time of sunrise being about 6:10.   First chore is fire up the camp stove to boil water.   We drink coffee made in a press pot.   (Way faster than perking and tastes great.)   Once you have poured the water in the pot,  it only takes 3-5 minutes to steep before it is ready for pressing.   Two cups go into our insulated mugs and then the rest goes into the Stanley thermos for drinking later.   Nothing beats enjoying that first cup of coffee while enjoying the birds singing and the early morning sounds of the forest.  ( we heard turkeys not fare from our site)

My wife and I usually sit and read for awhile before cooking breakfast.  I have alreadty finished three books on this trip and I am starting my fourth.   What do I read?    I read  "A Nightmare's Prayer"  A nonfiction book from a marine Harrier pilot stationed in Afghanistan.   I also read "Cross Current" and "Surface Tension" .  Two novels by Christine Kling about a female tugboat captain in Ft .Lauderdale that always manages to be around someone who dies.   Fast, fun read and the woman know about boats so it was technically accurate.  I am just starting an old WW2  novel about an attack transport in the South Pacific  called "Away All Boats"   By the way, three out of the four books were read using the Kindle app on the Droid.   Great for reading at night by the fire or just before going to sleep as no lights are needed.

What we have for breakfast depends on what we are doing that day.   For early morning hikes or getting on the road, we will have pastries or muffins and of course our coffee.   Most mornings we will make a big breakfast.  Eggs, bacon, (nothing beats the smell of frying bacon wafting across the campground) hash browns,  omelets, pancakes or our favorite, French toast.    Leftover Chili can be made into a great huevos rancheros.

When bellies are full and dishes are done, it is time for tidying up the campsite, inside and out.   With the A-Liner, we find people are constantly wanting to see the inside of the camper so we always try to have it rid up and presentable.

Lunches vary.   I love making cold hoagies with lots of goodies on them.   We have an insulated bag that holds them very well and I usually have ice in my Camelback that keeps the lunches cold.

Since we are recovering from the McCrae Peak  climb, we decided to just hang around camp.   Within a hundred yards of the Mortimer camp site is a beautiful sand beach on Wilson Creek.   It is a beautiful place to swim and sun.   The swimming hole drops gently to a clear pool that is over eight feet deep.

On a warm afternoon, we like to drag our chairs and books up to the waterfall that is about a quarter mile from camp.   We set our chairs in the shallow pool at the base of the falls and the cool water provides natural air conditioning.

Thorpe Creek Falls

The next major question is what have we been eating for dinner.    Spaghetti, beef stew,  beef stroganoff, chili, pork chops, steaks, fish.  Lots of fresh veggies from local sources if possibe and almost always a salad.    Somethings are from scratch but I usually make a couple of jars of spaghetti sauce and reheat when we need it.

As for the liquor supply, we started off with a bottle of Sailor Jerry spiced rum and a bottle of Jim Beam bourbon.  For wine we had half a case of Happy Camper cabernet sauvignon and another half case of Redwood Creek , plus we brought a few bottles of good wine for the real nice dinners.  All in all it is a pretty well stocked bar.   The NC mountains used to be pretty dry (not even beer or wine) but most communities have come to their senses and beer and wine can be bought at the local grocery store except on Sundays.

This has been a peek into the day in the life of the happy campers.

Mountains 2012 day 7

Note:  Due to lack of Internet at most of our campsites, this blog is being posted after the fact.   In the future we will need to work on a different way of posting.

This day found us at Grandfather Mountain.   If you have never been her, you owe it to yourself to go someday.   It is a bit pricey ($17 /person) but it is an amazing place.    The views are drop dead gorgeous.

Mile High Swinging Bridge.  You can see Mc Craes peak, that we climbed, in the background.

Beautiful vistas

We have visited here before but never had time to do the clime to McCraes Peak.    It is a one mile hike to the peak but it is misleading as you need to climb nearly 1000 feet in the last half mile.    This involves climbing 9 ladders and using safety lines.   Those with fear of heights, need not apply.   Jan will freely admit that she was way outside her comfort zone on the climb but she hung in there and made it to the summit.   I have already been told that she will never do it again.      

A series of three vertical  ladders,  about 90 feet climb combined.   ....and yes that is nearly straight down.

Jan spending a moment in her comfort zone

This is at the top of the ladders.   We are still about 200 feet from the summit

Reaching the summit

We left the summit and decided on a more protected route down as it looked like bad weather was headed in.   We started down the Underwood trail which only involves one ladder ( 60 feet high) but the trail resemble a large bolder field.   You had to slide on your butt most of the way down.   Just when we thought it couldn't get any more challenging, the heavens opened and the rains flowed.   I am so glad we took the "easier" route as coming down those 9 ladders in the rain would have been extremely  dangerous.    We tried to make it to a cave we knew of to get out of the rain but by the time we got there the rain had all but stopped.

The entire two mile hike and climb took us over five and a half hours.   It was hard work but well worth the effort.   Like most things in life, when you challenge yourself you will be rewarded.

Needless to say,   we were tired that night.   We cooked a simple meal and turned in to "The Love Shack" for some much needed rest.

Mountains 2012..... day 4,5,6

All is going well.  Lots of hiking and exploring. 
Hiked this morning to watch the sunrise from Little Lost Cove Cliffs.  

Mountains 2012. Day four

We are now basecamped in mortimer north carolina.  I suggest you google map it.   I am sitting at the only place that I can get an internet connection which is the side of a mountain about 5 miles away from our campsite.  I am creating this post on my droid bionic... hence I am not worried much about capitalization and punctuation.   Jan is drawing some of the beautiful rhododendron flowers which are in full bloom.

Images include our campsite and the view from the cliff that I'm sitting on.  The mountains in the center of the image is grandfather mountain.  We are planning a climb to the top of that and beyond this coming thursday. 

We will be in this area for about the next 10 days.   Final 2 nights we're going to pull the plug and be totally off the grid. 

We are eating well drinking well and just relaxing. I am finished 1 book and I am willing to a second.

The cliff we are on is known as dark side cliff.  It is about a 1 mile hike out to a beautiful open cliff area.

Okay we're going to just take time in enjoy the peace and quiet in the beautiful view.  I will post whenever I get an internet connection and have the time. 

Chip and Jan

2012 Mountain Trip Day 2

Hi

What a great night's sleep we had in the  "Love Shack".   We had gone to bed with the AC on but by morning it was not needed.  ........ it was 57°F when we got up.

Here is what our campsite looks like at Tablerock Mountain SP.

We got about 9 hours of sleep last night and felt rejuvenated after yesterdays grueling trip.   Breakfast was bacon and eggs and press pot coffee.

After breakfast cleanup we went off on a 2 mile hike of the Carrick creek trail. pretty easy for acclimating ourselves but very pretty.

Here is Tablerock

We drove about a fifty mile loop of car hiking which included a hike at Caesars Head.   Interesting thing is we have not been here sine our honeymoon, over 22 years ago.

OK, back at camp, cocktail hour commenced.   Getting ready for Italian and some red wine.

After tomorrow, our posts will be shorter as we will only have Internet once a day.   I will probably be posting from the DROID.

2012 Mountain Trip Day 1 adendum

Good morning.   I am on my first cup of coffee as I watch a beautiful sunrise over the mountains of South Carolina.

Yesterday was a looooooonnnnngggg day.    We were up at 0400 and on the road by 0430.    We ate breakfast at the the Waffle house in Gainsville, Fl ( Waffle House breakfasts of ham and chesse omlets with hash browns, scattered smothered an d covered are a tradition on road trips. )   We pushed from there to Forsythe Georgia for gas and lunch then the push to our destination, Tablerock Mountain State Park in South Carolina. It was a 12+ hour travel day.

No camp cooking was planned so we Checked out a local restaurant  called Aunt Sue's.   Country fried steak, okra and fried green tomatoes.....country cooking at it's finest.

Needless to say we were beat by the time we got back to the campsite but no too tired to enjoy our ritual Friday evening martini.  By 9 pm we were tucked in and off to slumber.

   We have a beautiful pull through spot, facing east so as I write, I am watching a most beautiful sunrise.   We will b e here for two nights.

Today we will be exploring the local area, hiking and just plain relaxing.  

Images to come later today.

2012 Mountain Trip Day 1

It was a 12 hour travel day.  Dinner out then a martini before sleep comes. More tomorrow.

Preparation......Loading day

The staging area in our condo has enough equipment to make an Everest climbing team proud.   Lists are being checked and double checked.   I am off to the store for one last batch of "must have items".

Back from the store,  Went to pick up trailer at the yard.   Recognized problem with propane hose.   Had to go buy new hose.   Heat is unbearable.

Finally finished loading everything at 7pm,   I am beat.    We are rolling at 0430 so not much to say tonight.   Pics from our first campsite will come tomorrow

Can't wait for tomorrow.  It is not the destination, it is the journey.

Preparation......Electronics and tech gear

My wife always makes fun of me over how much tech stuff I take on our journeys.   To me it is just the essentials

First of all, here is a picture of the dash of the JEEP as we headed out last year.

The equipment includes:

valentine V1 radar detector
Garmin Nuvi 250W GPS
Motorola Droid Bionic smartphone
Samsung Galaxy Tab 7"   3G enabled.
Sirius Satellite radio ( For back country camping, it is great to be able to listen to news nad programming while off the grid.)

The capabilities are a great tool while on the road.   We love being able to look stuff up while driving as well as finding food, rest areas etc.    It is funny but the radar detector has saved me from tickets , more in town than on the highway.   In case the three standalone GPS units are not enough, I also have a GPS receiver for my laptop as well as full topographic maps for N America.   Overkill, maybe but we find some very cool places to get lost while exploring.

What else do we bring?    Lots!!!! I have one tote that is dedicated to electronics and tech requirements.  First of all, chargers for everything.   Phones, laptops, tablets, cameras..... it would be so much easier if manufacturers would standardize all the chargers.  Lots of 12V splitters and a 110 v power strip.  You can never have enough outlets

OK now the major list:

20" led HDTV with built in DVD player
15" Acer Ultrabook laptop ( Mine for photo editing and camera image downloads)
10"  Toshiba netbook laptop   (wife's for email, news and game playing.)
Motorola GMRS walkie talkies
weather radio
Canon 30d and 50d  dSLR cameras
18-200 lens
10-20 ultra wide angle.
135-400 telephoto
All the accessories for cameras above.

The place where we will be spending  most of our time has no cell phone signal and of course no Internet.   To get a really solid cell signal with 3G data, we need to drive at least 15 miles.   I have one spot that is about a 5 mile drive and a quarter mile hike to where I can get a marginal signal.   Both my Droid Bionic and the galaxy tablet can act as an Internet hotspot for our computers , provided we have at least 3G data coverage.   W are usually driving around all day so at least once a day we are in Internet/phone range.   We take about 30 minutes to answer important emails, transmit blogs and get phone messages.   When we get back to camp, it is nice to be fully unplugged as it forces me to actually read books.   (last year on our two week trip, I read five full books.   It is very relaxing.)

Enough on my electronics.   If you have any suggestions of other items that I should have, please place them in the comments section below.   Thanks for reading.

Preparation......Let the staging begin.

It is one week from our departure on our nearly three week trip to the mountains of the Carolina's and Georgia.   Today is the last official day of school for my lovely wife, so after today our preparations can begin in earnest.

Due to our recent shakedown cruise, most of the important stuff is packed and ready to go.   We have found a variety of plastic storage tubs that fit the storage areas of the "Love Shack" perfectly.  They are all labeled and all the essentials are easy to find.  I amazed at how organized we are and how well it works for us.

The nice thing about the plastic totes is they can sit outside and even if it rains, nothing will get wet.   We do all of our camp cooking outside and we have certain totes that are stored under the Aliner dining room table with cooking essentials.  All of our dry foods, canned goods, spices and condiments are stored in the aft luggage locker making them easy to retrieve and put away.

Having all the essential camping gear stored in trailer makes for a much more orderly tow vehicle.  It is hard for us to imagine that the rear of our Jeep looked like this when we tent camped, the past few years.

I am using an app for my Android phone that makes planning and packing for a camping trip so much easier.   Camping Planner is fully customizable and can be setup with as many subdivisions of things to take as are needed.   Once everything is checked off in a category, the category goes green as in GO NOGO.   It is a great tool for planning any kind of expedition where multiple items are needed and must be confirmed before departure.

I only have one minor mechanical issue to address on the trailer and she will be ready to roll.   Last weekend, I installed a Fantastic Fan (thermostatic exhaust fan) and added a double propane tank holder.   Everything turned out great except I had to do a little engineering on the propane gas hose to make sure it is long enough to reach both cylinders.  A cheap elbow fitting did the trick and everything now reaches.

More as we get closer to departure.

Shakedown Weekend for the "Love Shack"

We have decided to name our A-Liner, "The Love Shack". ( here is the graphic we are going to have put on the spare tire carrier)

Saturday morning of Memorial day weekend found me, before sunrise, at the RV storage lot.    I picked up the Aliner and headed to the condo to load up.   One disadvantage to condo living is that that association frowns on RVs being parked on condo property. Because of this we have limited window of time to pull in and pull out.  We had all of our supplies preloaded in plastic totes, so the loading did not take long.   We had a few onetime setup items like cutting the memory foam topper for the bed and figuring out which fitted sheets would work best.   Normally this would have taken us about an hour but as luck would have it, Jan woke up that morning with a head cold and was running at about 30% efficiency.   We took the attitude that if someone complained about the camper being parked, we would tell them to send us a letter.    We took our time, making sure everything was checked off the list and by noon we were on the road.

A quick stop at Wal-mart for supplies and lunch at MacDonalds  had us on the road and headed off to adventure.   We got to the state park at about 3:30 and after checking in with the ranger, headed to our campsite.    I will be the first to admit that I still suck at backing in a trailer.  ( I get a little better each time, I think)  I managed to back into the campsite with a minimum of laughter from the neighbors in the packed , holiday weekend, campground.    Once in a reasonable position, I  Put the camper up in about a minute, put the stabilizers down and unhooked from the "HEEP".  No problems....this is going so well. I should learn never to say that.    I go and plug in the shore power cord and immediately the breaker blows.   I try again, same thing.   Shutting off all breakers in the camper and breaker pops again.   (I might add that it was about 95° and humid as hell so we really wanted to get the AC running.)

Luckily I always carry a volt ohm meter with me and I tore into the trailer to find out where the short circuit was.   I isolated each branch of the power legs going in and out and found that the direct short was in the converter main power bus.   What I found amazes me!   There was bare wire running from the bus that was tucked into the back of the converter with no termination, no place to connect to and no insulation.   I removed the wire, everything in the camper works and no more blown breaker.   I do not know how the dealer demonstrated the trailer to us when we picked it up, as everything was working fine then.   That wire may have been tucked in there since the camper was made.  We may never know.

Electrical problem solved, it was time to party and a killer batch of margaritas was made and consumed.   Wife claimed the tequila made her cold feel a lot better....I bet it did, plus all that good vitamin C.   Keeping in the Mexican theme, dinner was Yucatan style tacos con carne asada.   Way yummy plus rice and beans.

To be honest with you.   The first night in our new camper, Jan and I  did not sleep together.   Jan was so congested with her cold that she made up the extra bed and we slept in different beds together.   She was so worried that I would catch her cold and that she would keep me up all night.   The roominess of the Aliner is nice that we had that option.

I found out quickly that our 5000 BTU air conditioner could turn the inside of the Aliner into a "meat locker".    Jan had taken the down comforter over to her bed and I was stuck with a sheet.    I must have adjusted the AC a half dozen times before I dialed in an comfortable temperature.

Sleeping was a quantum leap from the tent that we are used to camping in.  A queen size bed with a two inch memory foam topper, was way better than an air mattress on the nylon floor of a tent.   Just getting up is easier.   I can't believe we waited this long to take this step.

Sunday was relaxing.   Nice breakfast, hiking in the centuries old hammocks of central florida and just lounging around.  I read two books in the two days were were there.

To add just a little more excitement to our trip, mother nature decided to send us the outskirts of tropical storm Beryl.   If we had been tenting it might have been a problem but with the Aliner, we just hunkered down inside, enjoyed an adult beverage and let the weather blow.   It sure beats a tent.  I shot this picture at night between the rain storms.

The Storms lasted until about 7am.   It was so nice laying in bed and listening to the rain on the roof of the camper and being cozy and dry inside.

Breaking camp and the drive home were uneventful but we were sorry to see the weekend be over so soon.   We can't wait to head out on our three week trip in the middle of June.   Stay tuned for our adventures from the road.

By the way.......I caught Jan's cold and was sick the rest of the week.    It must have been that cozy afternoon, snuggling in the "Love Shack".

First post

Hi.

Welcome to Chip and Jan's travel blog.    This is my first attempt at blogging so please be kind until I get up to speed.   We have done lots of email travel notes from the road on our many other travels but kind of wanted this to be a bit more permanent.          

First a little about us.   My wonderful wife and I have been married  since 1989.   We are  "Soul Mateys".   ( see my profile to the side for a bit more about  us.)   We have been tent camping, both individually and as a couple for as long as we can remember.  The recent purchase of our Aliner travel trailer is a whole new step in our wilderness and travel adventures.   We hope you enjoy following along.

We purchased our 2009 Aliner Expedition in mid April and brought it home on Easter weekend.   It is actually a Ranger body on the 18 foot expedition frame with a front storage porch.  It has the off road package but is not as heavy as the newer expeditions.  

For those of you who don't know, an Aliner is a hard sided pop  up travel trailer.  Here are some pictures that we took just after we got it.

Our preparations so far:

1)  New, sturdier tongue jack with wheel.
2)  Trailer ball lock.
3)  Converted to LED lighting in all interior and exterior fixtures.   (Also all interior lamps in tow vehicle.)
4)  Installed panel mount volt meter to check battery state.
5)  Purchased 3" memory foam for bed.
6)  Purchased 30 amp extension and varied adapters.
7)   New Water Hose
8)   Purchased new Honda EU2000i Generator
9)   Installing dual Propane tank holder.
10)  AUX transmission cooler installed on tow vehicle. ( plus new shocks and general maint. )

We have purchased plastic totes that fit all of the storage areas and are in the process of setting up our camping gear, tools, accessories and comforts of home. 

We are going to spend two nights at Highland Hammock State park over Memorial day weekend as a shakedown cruise.   Then in mid June,  head out for the mountains of  North and South Carolina and Georgia for almost three weeks.   We are so excited about our adventure.   We can't wait to share our stories from the road. 

That is all for now.   Stay tuned.