Oct 3-24
It is Over
Hard to believe that we have reached the end of the Ty and Jane Great Adventure! Not sure where the time went, it went by so fast! Seems like we just got going, got into a routine, adjusted to each other’s idiosyncrasies (well not all but most), got use to the bugs, got into chill mode, figured out google maps, more comfortable hooking and unhooking Wanda. Now it is time to return to Colorado, get our family and friends fix, do some skiing and try to acclimate to the altitude.
Making our way South
Decided to head south since the time is quickly coming to an end.
First stop was Yemassee in South Carolina. Nothing special but we did bike on the Spanish Moss Trail which was nice and back to looking at lighthouses. Actually got to climb up the 176 stairs to the top, and what a view!
Next place was of Ocala National Forest for a 3 day stay, hiking everyday along the trails. Came upon the Ocala Grasshopper, only found in the Ocala NF. Look closely at the pic and you will see a smaller grasshopper on top of the larger one. At first we thought it was only one grasshopper until I showed it to the Forest Ranger and she pointed out the smaller one on the top. The female is the large one, and she carries around the male until they have mated, then she kills and eats him.
Next place was Osceola National Forest, Salt Springs Campground, Florida. Really nice state park and we hiked every day along some pretty interesting trails. This is heavy bear area, however, all we saw were the droppings.
Just as Dorian past over FL we made our way to Hudson FL which is on the gulf coast. The attached picture is what was left of Dorian off to the North East. We really enjoyed our stay here, think mainly it was the tiki bar, Sam’s Beach Bar and Grill, which we frequented every night. Right on the water, dancing, live band, just a fun place to hang in the evening. During the day we hiked the Crystal River Archeological Park which had Indian burial mounds but what was most intriguing was the place created for ceremonies. It had a park like setting with 2 “stages” on either end that were at least 10’x30’ and 50’ high made entirely out of clam shells. That is a lot of clam shells. We also hiked the Swamp Trail which ran along the coast in the marsh land area. Kind of spooky as murky canals ran along both sides of us, and the brush was dense. I was on the outlook for alligators which there are none, but we did see a deer loping across the trail and a very colorful insect. Sunsets were just outstanding.
Repair stop is Lazy Days of Tampa Resort. Pull in here for an overnight, cleaned up Wanda then Lazy Days did the repairs while we sat around the pool and waited for repairs to get finished. Life is really hard sometimes.
Then off to John and Sandy’s in Ft. Myers to collect our mail. And bed down Wanda in a storage lot for a couple of months.
Colorado Here We Come
I will be in Colorado on October 26. Amy is having a total house remodel and needs to move out so I will help her pack up and move her out by Nov 2.
Ty will be driving out to Colorado, not sure when he will show up but sometime around the 31st.
Will be staying with Amy until she moves into her temporary place on the 2nd, then bunk in with Janis until around the 15th of November then we will be guest of Sharon and Doug Craigs. We will be there on and off until January 27 when we leave again for Part II of our adventure/
Thoughts About This Adventure
It went by way toooooo fast!
We love everything about this lifestyle – the carefree living, being able to pick up and go wherever, being full time tourist, not having to take care of a house and all that comes with it.
Really misjudged what we needed to survive as when we return to CO will be hauling still more stuff that we never used the entire 10 months.
Not ready to give up this lifestyle anytime soon.
Miss the companionship that we had at Anthem since it mostly has just been the two of us.
Miss the family greatly and the everyday life with them. But we kept in contact almost daily and saw them 4 times.
I haven’t worn any makeup since June – only got my haircut 2 times. My feet are in desperate need of a pedicure.
Did a lot of hiking and not so much biking as we would have liked.
We went to 9 states and District of Columbia, and made it to all but one State Capital
State Capitals of the states we were in
- Florida – Tallahassee
- Georgia – Atlanta
- South Carolina – Columbia
- North Carolina – Raleigh
- Virginia – Richmond
- West Virginia – Charleston
- District of Columbia – Washington DC
- Maryland – did not get to
- Kentucky – Frankfort
- Tennessee – Nashville
Friends and Family
We stayed with so many friends and family especially when we were in Florida, and made a few new friends which we stayed with or camped next to or just met along the trail or in a tiki bar. Thanks to all of those who hosted us and making this great adventure truly GREAT.
Tyandjanegreatadventure 2020
Plans are to come back to Florida in February to get Wanda and spend 2 months in the warmth and sunshine.
Then we will travel North to finish off seeing the Eastern Seaboard. Including the 8th annual RV trip with brother Will and sista-in-law Pam, thinking of going to the Nova Scotia area.
We will end up back in Colorado again for the holidays then who knows what lies ahead.
Hope you have enjoyed the blog and our adventures of travel, the history and the lay of the land and how two people learn to live, travel and still love together.
