Lisa Stenger-Smith

Friends of A Lifetime

Friends of A Lifetime Catching up on the Vinny VanGo blog as it has been several weeks. But I have a really good excuse, and now maybe even it will be less of a problem since we can erect a 25 ft pole into the sky that has an antenna so we can boost thatContinue reading “Friends of A Lifetime”

Florida Springs

Diving into a Florida Spring is incredible especially after you have arrived at the heat of the day and can hardly slide your bathing suit on because you are so sweaty from setting up camp as fast as possible in the direct sun. All over Florida there are places that the underground aquifers bust throughContinue reading “Florida Springs”

St Augustine and Anastasia SP

Anastasia State Park won the title of the 6th best state park in the country, and from our expectations it lives up to it. The sites are huge and private surrounded by green. The biggest drawback is the cell service needed for getting camping spots for next year since Florida State Parks work on anContinue reading “St Augustine and Anastasia SP”

Woodstock, St Petersburg, Fort De Soto

Found a fabulous Harvest Host heading out toward our next destination to St Petersburg, and guess what they were having a Woodstock Revival right there at the Winery, and it was pavilion covered and they weren’t so loud, and they played the music of the era, at this afternoon event. Luckily with a fan blowingContinue reading “Woodstock, St Petersburg, Fort De Soto”

Delray, Gators and Old Friends

Delray Beach and the Thanksgiving Switcheroo The wind blew away the last of our annual Thanksgiving traditions, so we decided a new one needed to be devised. So this was the first of the Cardinal Spring Training Meet-Ups with the originator couple, Denny and Debby. Darlene beat out Trish to a spot on their sofaContinue reading “Delray, Gators and Old Friends”

Armadillo, owls and 4 J’s

Fort Clinch SP is a beautiful old growth forest and beach all in one, just not at the same time. There is an Atlantic Beach side where sites are close together, and then the River side sites that are huge and are heavily shaded by the trees and vines, moss, palms and foilage. Here weContinue reading “Armadillo, owls and 4 J’s”

Florida – Here we are

Florida – here we are, – drivers licenses on Day 1. Just in time to celebrate Bo’s birthday and oh was it a party. The bad weather had been chasing us across the country, but we were able to stay just ahead of it, and besides the clouds of dust blowing us through Texas, andContinue reading “Florida – Here we are”

White Sands at Sunset

This will be the last day of Catch-Up mode – It was a 500 mile drive today. Stopped at Picacho Peak State Park for a breakfast picnic about an hour out of Maricopa. We were just a tad early for the wildflowers, although the yellow desert dusting had already started, but the abundance of theContinue reading “White Sands at Sunset”

Home where we park it !!

The Doormat says it all – We’re off ! Olive blows us off course before we even got on the road. The already bent trees from persistent desert winds of the last 30 years somehow withstood the incredible winds of Feb 22, 2023, the day we were to leave. Vinny was moved to a safeContinue reading “Home where we park it !!”

Epic Day in the Crust (Ridgecrest)

February 18 2023 – an epic day filled with nostalgia, ashes, hummingbirds, Ole Bessie’s (our family Suburban) last hurrah, cheesesteaks, beer, exceptional desserts, song, dance celebration of our time here in Ridgecrest and John’s graduation from work. Where to start – the people are always the most important. But first the birds as there wereContinue reading “Epic Day in the Crust (Ridgecrest)”