Monday, April 6, 2026

One of our more ambitious trips yet..... 40 stops over 4 months. LETS GO!

 

And here we GO!  One of our more ambitious RV trips has begun with new destinations mixed with some return locations… (a total of 40) The timing of this particular epic adventure is ironically timed to begin within the same 24 hour period that NASA launched its first mission to the moon in 54 years.  This first picture shows RV ready to roll towards the full moon, (in the background) less that 12 hours after we stood on our back porch balcony and saw the Artemis 2 with the 4 astronauts leave the lift pad to go toward that lunar vicinity.

 


Just as the rocket needs to go through a long safety checklist- we also just completed the same, with a handful of systems needing maintenance or repair.   Also similar to the moon mission which first circles the Earth several times to be sure all systems are up to speed and ready to roll- as we begin, we make our first stops within the state of Florida for our last checks prior to going full throttle across the country.

 


Our initial campground in Lake City was uneventful- a good thing, except for the motorcycle ‘Proud Boy- Jesus’ gang (20+ bikes) which had parked their toys directly on the path in front of our exit route out of the campground as we were ready to depart.  Thoughts crossed my mind of the many scenes in various movies where somebody inevitably needs to run right over all those bikes to make their getaway…  Thankfully someone else was leaving right before us and they had the task of getting them to move.

 

Second destination was a very pleasant surprise- the Twin Lakes Resort Campground in Defuniak Springs FL which was correctly hyped as “The best of the best”.   Quite a large relatively new place built on a peninsula… water surrounding it stocked with bass and picturesque with many old stumps sticking up.  Sites super clean, cement and gravel and spaced out.  BONUS- FREE KAYAK RENTALS!  Yes I caught a large and a small mouth bass- and even a really close up view of a huge bald eagle on a branch above the water! Defuniak Springs is an interesting little clean city about an hour in from the Gulf of Mexico... but also a bit odd, kind of like Stepford Wives strange.  Town closes up at noon on Saturday and does not reopen till Monday or Tuesday.  In its center is a perfectly round spring (Lake) and there are several concentric circle streets that surround the entire lake. Its AKA the second Chattaqua (to the first in upstate NY).... exceptionally religious place.......