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 through the limestone and when this happens in a relatively sandy area there exists a cool beautifully clear water swimming hole, and it’s a big hole, football field or more size. There are different rating levels of springs depending upon the amount of water that they pump out, but of course the water has to go somewhere so it enters into the St Johns River and it flows to the sea. The governmental agencies then rope off a section that tells the alligators that they may not come into this area and then they become full of people paddling and frolicking in the cool, refreshing water.

There are always snorkelers, a few super long fin, free divers and then one or two scuba divers. The source of the spring is a cave that can be very deep, and people at all these equipment types and breath holding levels try to dive down as far as they possibly can to see whatever is not reachable by the masses.

This dark hole is a cave that goes down over 100ft hence the scuba people

There is some reed and water lilly action on the edges where the flow is slower and fish hide in these areas but will come out for some nice viewing, but so far the gators are adhering to the posted signs.

Of course there are lots of blow up devices and young people tossing/catching various toys. It has been very refreshing not hearing one curse word during our whole spring experience, although the whole place is hopping now that it’s the weekend at Alexander Springs (NFS Park). Also there have been very few whining and disruptive kids and yelling parents in Florida in general. And the best of the children were right there with us !!

Well, we talked about diving into Alexander Springs but let talk about driving into Alexander Springs taking the 10 mile Paisley “washboard” Road. Miraculously none of the stash velcroed everywhere in Vinny came tumbling down and all exterior pieces remained intact including bikes and windows. RV trip wizard next time.

The campgrounds in Florida have been outstanding as far as beautiful lush sites and bathroom facilities, but the bites on our feet have been a bit annoying especially for John.  We were expecting the mosquitoes to swarm around happy hour time like we remember from living back East, but they haven’t nor have we seen that many at all. We are clammed(in our Clam Screen room) in the evening for the most part making sure to engage in diligent zipping. Perhaps they are the No-See-Ums (Flying midges. These are usually 1 to 3 mm, but I don’t think our eyes are that bad yet-I haven’t seen them.)  Well so far cortisone cream and calamine lotion are helping John, they don’t itch that much for me. Another interesting Florida phenomenon is the diversity of bird churps that resound through the campsite each morning.  The actual birds stay hidden in the lush foliage but sometimes it is quite the morning cacophony and some start at daybreak.  

Back to the Springs, Alexander is really better for kids because there is a very long gradual sandy beach and the current is minimal. Our ever gracious National Park Service erected a wall and steps so there is an area where people can get in without having the slime/bug effect of plant growth and the alligators know that this is not their habitat.

There may be a bit of green algae or reeds, but it is all visible in the crystal clear water so there is no unknown ick effect as it slides by or you can avoid it altogether. I think this is a level 2 Spring unlike the Blue Springs State Park that was a Level 1, rated based on water flow. The current at Blue Springs was quite strong and I had to swim with vim and vigor for most of the way to make it to the cave aquifer source, John was able to walk it, but picking up your feet and you were pushed away. It was at Blue Springs that we observed the 3 foot long blue gar fish, kind of like an oversized tropical trumpet fish with a long snout.

Then when I looked up gar fish on the inter webs found out they have similar snouts as our other Florida water friends, but I’m not worried because Florida Gators are smart and read the signs and know where they are supposed hang out.

Florida Spring Spoiler alert..If you ever come on a beautiful weekend day trip make sure to arrive before 8am, my niece Carley, her husband Nick, and her family got here at 9:30am and after waiting in line for an hour and a half parking was full. Luckily they were able to park at our camp spot and as they whizzed by the “Sorry We’re Full” sign following me on my bike. Their children were an absolute delight and we frolicked in the water with Wren, shared tangerines with MerWren, her little doll who has a whole host of adventures that I had to invent, pop-top adventures opening the club cracker container at least 100 times, playing Uke and singing Old MacDonald. When it’s nap time for Vander, it’s nap time, and he fell asleep floating in the Spring and a transport to the beach blanket was not getting in the way of his ZZZ’s ( we’re all jealous).

It was so nice to have them visit.

Back to Blue Springs today because we decided to do the St John River boat tour that was recommended so we could get the skinny on the Florida Springs and all the nature around.  

Birds, birds, birds..they were everywhere Blue Heron who can weigh up to 7lbs , and so many more, as the ever popular alligators and turtles. 

We didn’t do all 310 miles that flow from unusual direction of South to North ending up in the Jacksonville area, but we got to see a few Manatees poke up and learn that they come into the Florida Springs when it is cold since the spring water is very constant in the low 70s. This means December through March is their high season. In Blue Springs Park, water sports and swimming become off limits, but you can see manatees up close as there are observation decks along where the springs flow. These gentle giants could never tolerate the west coast water because they go into shock and die at 63 degrees. They can be up to 3000 lbs and eat 10% of the body weight in plants each day. That’s why they love the St JohnRiver because it has lots of vegetation. Hope to come back during the winter season next year to see these big beautiful creatures, evidently they have no predators and die most often from being hit by motor boats.

From the observation deck we saw lots of different fish including many Gars in the very clear water. We are looking forward to coming back in the very beginning of the year and observing the manatees. We saw lots of cool fish from the decks as the water is so clear.

Well this concludes the 2023 Florida Springs adventure- more to come next year.

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 an 11 month booking window.  Texts, calls and Uber goes through just fine, but my own California competitive camping spot stress is frustrating, I need to learn to chill, or get a booster, or something.  But we just found out we can camp in Tent Sites and they have water and electricity at this park, and they are more available.    But let’s talk about the wide open beach that if we ever would stop chasing beer or music in town then maybe we would get a chance to ride our bikes on it.

There is a nice Beach Cafe that supposedly has internet and you can get ice cream at the small gift shop.  Facilities are in excellent shape and so well marked.  One of the best things about St Augustine is the music scene.  The campground borders the St Augustine Amphitheater, we were sorry to miss Billy Strings by a week.  On Saturday there is a wonderful farmers market and the Free Rangers gather for a bluegrassy feel of about 25 musicians that seemed to increase as the morning went on.  

Individuals would take turns leading anything from the old cowboy 30’s genre to the Eagles, and everything in between. There was a fabulous harmonica and keyboard that showed up for the jam, as well as multiple typical stringed instruments and a fabulous trumpeter.

When the guy needed to give his trumpet lips a rest, he played the washboard with spoons.  Evidently this goes on every week, and I received some more venue tips from a woman who sat next to me. Celestino’s Wine Room (no bridge crossing required),  San Sebastian Winery (weekend music) ,  The best part is that it is a bike ride away. Continuing on with the camping facilities…There is an excellent boat launch into the intercoastal Matanzas River Outlet and perfect for StandUp (not comedy). 

The other side is the Atlantic Ocean beach and the protected dunes so birds are plentiful and the fish are even more so, as they were jumping all around me and one tiny one even jumped on my SUP.  Move over White Sand of New Mexico because the white sand dunes of Florida also are beautiful. 

Evidently the St Augustine Fort, Castillo de San Marcos National Monument,  (date back to the 1500’s ) that went between Spain and England several times before England got Florida as a consolation prize after they lost the American Revolution.

And it even had a moat. With a drawbridge.

The Fort was constructed from coquina (we’ll just call it shell cement that took 1 to 3 years to dry and would actually trap the bullets/balls – they could be reused against their enemies). 

We had visited the Fort when Darlene, Julie and Bo came down for the day. The Senior National Park Pass got 4 people in the door and the history was quite interesting..In fact, I may want to do a trolley tour before we go, and I usually don’t like to do that kind of stuff, but first a beer at Prohibition Kitchen.  

Energized by Farmer’s Market Lone Ranger live music, we decided to attend the Ma’am Music Festival at Colonial Oak Music Park. It was in the most quaint,beautiful setting, tucked under a huge oak tree, in the middle of the St Augustine tourist hustle and bustle, off the St George Street pedestrian zone. 

Ma’am is a women featured fest and one of our favorites was the energy of Romona and the Riots, look at those pink platforms.

We also saw a fabulous older electric guitar shredding woman, Vange Durst, and young Annie Duke’s Band with whom John really connected. And finally the headliner, Kaylee Rose, a St Augustine native whose parents would have to bring her to gigs since she was underage back in the day.  She moved to Nashville some 8 years ago and has achieved some top songs, and  I really connected with her lyrics. 

We obtained our beer mug and cocktail mug that saved the landfill and gave us discounts to the St Augustine Distillery where J’Bo likes to go. We will leave them securely in their possession upon our departure from Florida.

We had ridden our bikes to the pedestrian gate near the amphitheater and $10 Ubered into town and back, a great way to travel and another perfect reason to rebook a stay in Anastasia state park. The night cap to the evening was a stop at the Ancient Times Brewery for another Coconut Porter that we had discovered on the first day of our arrival to St Augustine, with the 10 mile roundtripper bike ride over the bridge and into the downtown.

This was our 3rd bike drawbridge crossing but we were rewarded by a fabulous Coconut porter and a Grilled Cheese Specialty Joint that delivered right to our bar stool. Queen Brie (Brie, Raspberry and Bacon) was the bomb, and there are many other yums to try and they also have Mac and Cheese, but not just plain old Mac and cheese.

We scoped out the Peace, Love and Little Donuts for the next day’s visit. Luckily I had thought to go back for the bike lights before we departed because although we stayed on sidewalks for the most part, the road was busy.

Day 2 more music, as we decided to go to the Elks Club that had a British Pub band that was featured.  USMC veteran, Dave,  became our friend and signed us into this members only event and we listened to Charlie, the dancer, tell us everything from his Angels (he had 3 daughters too) to his head-on car crash, to his great grandchildren, to daughter 3 on the 3rd husband. Dave showed the fabulous outdoor facilities and RV areas that membership includes.  We danced to the oldies with a lot of Do-wop, but also a good variety of music.  The 3 person band sometimes just sang to music tracks and sometimes played guitar. This would be a fine place for the 4 J’s!

As we approach our final two days here, I booked Site 51, a Tent only site but we fit in perfectly, Yeah, we love this place!!  Today we found our favorite bike shop Island Life PEDEGO – what excellent service. John has a new tube, hand grips,  and the guy even figured out our handheld bike pump and he put an extension in John’s  handlebars so the old man doesn’t have to crouch down anymore. 

Since we had Vinny out for the bike repair (new tube) we decided to explore the St. Augustine “barber shop” Lighthouse, and it turned out to be a couple hour exploration not only up the 16 flights of steps for the view of the area, but also into the  many building of history. 

From boat building, diesel engine manufacturing, to shrimping, to all the old ships running aground due to the hurricanes rearranging the ocean floor.  As the American Revolution was coming to an end, Florida was a haven for British Loyalists who were ostracized from the American Colonies that were now winning the war and and their ships were sinking because of the dynamic state water depth as a result of hurricanes.  

We also did the ancient Dunes trail that were probably ocean dunes once upon a time, but now are fully Florida jungle with a plethora of Saw Palmetto, those beautiful palms that are everywhere.  Decided to bypass the Marsh trail as it was the evening and with any stoppage the mosquitos started to land.  

Off to bike ride to the ocean where they get blown away !! Task at hand see how far the large building which we believed to be the Embassy Suites right across from the Salt Life Restaurant was. Correct, and it is exactly 1/2 mile down the beach from the main campground parking area, making it a perfect Trish Hoover setup for next year. Now we can visit with friends who aren’t camping oriented. Hopefully there will be some good musicians at the Amphitheater for next year.

But the bonus for this excursion was to see dolphins off the pier across from Salt Life and it was so cool after our hit beach walk

Last full day, and decided to do the trolley tour to learn a bit more about the history rich city of St Augustine that kept changing British and Spanish hands so many times. Particularly interesting is how Florida was where all the British loyalists who were scorned, and abused by the American patriots fled as the unrest continued to brew in the colonies prior to the Revolution.  It would eventually become a haven after the Patriots won. It is so interesting how one never learns a part of history if not located in the area. Just like learning about the California Mission System that was going on the same time the 13 Colonies  were getting rebellious, and now Florida history. 

We walked by the Fountain of Youth, marked by the Old Senator, a 600 year oak tree, as we strolled down the famous Magnolia Tree Canopy  laden with air moss that hung from the arching branches. 

This time the shells were left much larger than in the Fort Castillo and rumor says if a wall scaling perpetrator would get scrapped, the bacteria would produce an infection that spelt death back in the day. Hopped back on the trolley and saw all the grand hotels, churches and buildings of Henry Flaggler, one of the three original men who started Standard Oil. Flagler’s arrival to St Augustine in the 1880s was largely responsible for the Golden Age for St Augustine, as he brought in the Florida East Coast Railroad making it a resort town with yacht racing and golf for the rich. He built the hospital and the cost of relocating a jail because the original was far too close to his resort hotels. No historical trolley ride is complete without a stop at the St Augustine distillery which gave samples of Moscow Mule, an Old Fashion, and one other rum concoction. Then off to the neighboring San Sebastian Winery for some more samples. Was very skeptical about the sweet wine made from the locally grown Muscadine grape. But all were quite good and refreshing. All of their wines were fairly inexpensive as well. $13 – $18 a bottle, my kind of price, but of course they didn’t quite make the cut, plus we rode our bikes over the 4 miles and over the Lions drawbridge to the first trolley stop.

Lunch at the Fish House as the Ice House at the Distillery, J’Bos favorite, was closed on Tuesdays. Walking back to the town center, we stopped at Dog Rose brewery for a porter, but just had to continue and have one last Ancient Times Coconut Porter. That one turned into several as we met Mark and his binder full of Sea Shanties. He had been trying to start up a Sea Shanty group and of course after a few porters in, we are shantying with him and people are coming in off the street to hear all the ruckus. Well as we talked and found out about several of his favorite Florida springs, De Leon Springs State Park and Itischeeka Springs (where you tube down the St John River). Then we went on to Shelby Mustangs and found out that his Father had been a judge at the Amelia Island Car show that Bo was a part of this year and he had met Carroll Shelby too. Then the conversation turned to Music and Stogies, a cigar bar that John had read about having a huge beer selection. Well as Old Times was in the process of closing down for the evening, he agreed to show us the way to a cigar smelling (bar was equipped with extra air suckers) and also a lovely outdoor area of Stogies. The music was excellent and as Mark got into an lively discussion about Florida being overgunned with a guy that never shot one but bought one for protection since after all the DMV advertises for closed carry when you get your driver’s license, more money for the coffers. A much more pleasant evening than I would have expected when surrounded by cigar smokers! Now, to get back over the bridge and back to Anastasia! Well the morning started with some droplets and was ugh, worried we’d need to pack up the Clam in a wet state. But all of a sudden the sky is blue and the sun is shining. and it is almost 11am; time to get the stogie boy up and get dried out before departing for Blue Springs State Park! Good by St Augustine will return next year as Elks members if our application is accepted and we can make the training at initiation that is offered in 2 weeks.

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 blowing from our backs and it was very comfortable sipping and listening.  The RV parking was a short walk and we had decided to get hookups making the afternoon air conditioned napping time especially pleasant as the humidity was taking hold in this more agricultural area.  The venue was lovely and we will make sure to look for their other music genre related events in the future, probably not it in the summer.

Headed out and met Ed and Annie for breakfast at Charlene Coyote Grill that was in the middle of the Road Runner Travel Resort and RV park. Really nice setting, and better yet seeing family to boot all while eating delicious breakfast comfort food. 

More family time, as we headed to St Petersburg to visit cousins Nance’, Alan and Ryan. More good beer for John as we dined at the Three Daughters Brewery.  

Fort DeSoto, a narrow spit bordering the Atlantic and Tampa Bay, was our next destination. Into mangrove jungles with Vinny,  with exotic white birds scavenging through our site.  Another 14 mile bike trip on the best ever paved paths and so strange to have yellow beaver tail cactus in this land of humidity but I guess the sandy soil is the common link.  

A nice walk on the beach to relieve the bike-butt syndrome that was developing by mile 9.  Back to camp and shower and salad was in order.  This was the first night we slept with both screens on and doors wide open.  No alligators or birds or lizards snuck under the netting and we had a good sleep and scored another night at the campground in the pet friendly area.  

A lazy day for me to get caught up on my writing and Great Smokey Mountain planning. It was the first time we got out the stand up paddle board.   I think I will name her, JoJo, after my best paddle boy who pumped her up which is always quite an exhausting undertaking, especially those last few pounds.

We had found the perfect sandy launch site on our bike ride the day before so the plan went smoothly on  this Monday(I had to look on my watch for the day of the week).  It came back like riding a bike even though I had only learned to paddle last summer. 

I didn’t come across any alligators as I paddled along the shore of the For deSoto overlooking the first expansive Tampa Bay Bridge.

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 sofa and while Vinny is still VanGoing, we’re planning on making this a regular event, and next year will add Key West into the equation.  Of course good food and libation is always a part of the equation when camping with the Lincks, but comfort of being in the presence of old friends and reminiscing about the 20+ years of our Carpinteria Camper adventures is always an enjoyable time. And now we play Farkle.  

No trip is complete without new adventures.. the Gator Experience..This involves a 2 hour airboat ride on the everglades.

 Little Wayne had those gators acting like pets as the pair swam up to our boat wanting treats I suppose, since petting gators doesn’t seem to be a wise idea.

We got to see them up close and personal. We learned about the Everglade houses and folklore and enjoyed the beautiful day,  speeding around the reeds and watching birds.  

Beaching was a bit on the windy side and only got into the ocean once as there were rip currents. John and I took a 10 mile bike ride to Red Reef Park.  The sidewalks were perfect for riding because the main roads were 3 lane speedways and we won’t be caught alive(not dead) in the bike lane that were roadside.  Luckily as we came close to home, thirsty and exhausted, there was an ABC store with a lovely bench in the AC, and we took it as an opportunity to rest and purchase some Tennessee Salted Caramel, Johns new found sipping whiskey  which I just call dessert.  While talking of beverage finds, the Cox Science museum excursion,

 complete with dinosaurs

 and mini golf

 ended in the Copperpoint Brewery find and an exceptional Espresso Stout

 and another opportunity to squeeze into the back seat of the Camry which in itself was always  a fun filled adventure.That being said it wasn’t a VW Bug and we were thankful for ride and it was so easy being close to our old friends.  

One of the ironic things that was discovered was that Scott’s Moms old condo, Trafalgar, was right down the street and Scott was able to provide us with several cool places to visit, but we still need to hit Fratelli’s in Highland Beach, all Nextimes along with return to Copper Point.

More delicious food with Bo, Julie and Mary Lou joining us for deliciousness at Mussel Shoals. Yes Life is good !!

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 we got to see our first Armadillo ever.

The drive to the campground is almost exclusively through the canopy cover that arches over the width of this road is covered with moss giving the place a bit of an eerie feeling. Hiking trails crisscross throughout the park and the 25mph speed limits make it great for bike riding, even though there is no shoulder or bike path. One can hike to the Fort from the campground and also on several nature trails. The campground bath house is among the best we have ever had in a state park and there were two washer dryers to boot.

The park is a perfect setup for the leisure biker while at the same time accomplishing 10 miles even with one gear as the weather caused a bit of stickiness in the works. The beautifully calm ride starts out with the 3 mile beautiful ride under the canopy right to the beach and then down the beach side road (no traffic) to Fletcher Park. Turning around, there are 2 watering/eateries holes along the way (Salt Life Food Shack and the Sandbar) before you head home under the Fort CLinch Canopy. This type of logistical setup is perfect for us. And there was even a Circle K to pick up some milk before the Canopy Ride and the Owlette viewing site.

Tender fingertips and 3 gigs in, as the 2 J’s, (Bo And Julie) increased exponentially to 4 J’s in the last week when John and I (J’Lisa) came in on the scene. So refreshing to make music with our friends as last evening we played at the Fernandina Beach(FB) American Legion. The 4 J’s will be on our reunion tour through the end of April as we have a few more gigs in FB. It’s hard to believe that it has been almost 3 years since the final hurrah of Treacherous Edges in 2019 and all J’s are overjoyed to be together again.

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, and a few showers, we arrived rearing to go in the welcome arms of our friends. We did 1100 miles in two days, but with a thriller mystery on the audio and my 70 mph speed limits, the miles passed.

Day 1 Maricopa AZ

Day 2  Las Cruces AZ, White Sands NP, Rio Bravo Winery 

Day 3, We blew into Fort Stockton RV Park where we had dinner at the on-site cafe.  Although we are used to desert winds, I felt like we were in the Dust Bowl days.  Our 300 mile drive took about 6 hours and our Marfa excursion had to be cut from the day’s itinerary because of the dust.  Marfa as per our waitress’s recommendation was a cute little Texas town worth a bit of side-tracking, maybe next year.

Day 4, Sunrise Beach Texas just west of Austin for a delightful visit with Val and puppy fix with her girls, Dottie and Sally. The winds had ceased, and we did a beautiful Inks Lake State Park during our visit, at which time we were introduced to the Gatlinburg Tennessee Salted Caramel Whiskey-the perfect dessert

Day 6 – A 500 mile drive to Baton Rouge with a stop at the Lake Charles Veterans Park much needed leg stretch and Buffi’s Peauxboys, a darling little Cafe.

Found the Hollywood Casino listed as an Overnight Parking discovered by filtering in the All Stays App in the Downtown area for some shut-eye before what would be our marathon 650 mile drive to Fernandina Beach. Again, weather and the excitement of seeing our friends propelled us to just keep pedal to the metal.

Day 7 – Florida – so glad to be here with our friends

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 the Saguaro Cactus among the greening mountains made it a perfectly beautiful picnic spot right off the highway for the long drive that lay ahead.

Decided to try and hit White Sands NP and although 50 miles of the route – it was so worth it !  The largest gypsum sand dunes in the world expanding 228 square mile is shared with the US DOD (White Sands Missile Range)  where the skies are clear and valley relatively flat. The land area is the about ⅙ the size of China Lake and  perfect for missile testing.

The 1.8 mile White Sands Back Country trail was perfect for the sitting-in-the-van-too-long neck ache that I was experiencing, and as a bonus it was sunset on the sands. Hmm wonder if the Stand Up Paddle Board could have been utilized as the cafeteria tray for sliding down the snow colored dunes – that could have been fun but all that sand without shower possibilities was certainly a deterrent. 

Rio Grande Vineyard and Winery – Harvest Host Overnight.  Opened until 9pm was the perfect place for us to slip in at nightfall to their large RV parking area. There was a sign up right at the door, and we just added our name even though we had not received the email confirmation that they accepted our request.  Even John had a glass of mission wine which came from the grapes that the Spanish Friars snuck in during the time when local grape growing in the area was prohibited by the Catholic Church.  Supply chain issues for grapes getting here from Spain in the 17th Century necessitated this underground operation and the original vines have been proliferated forward from smuggled seeds.  John’s alter boy self decided the mission wine was worth a try. The staff was extremely friendly and explained these details to us.   Well, didn’t take home any Mission red, but we got the last bottle of their award winning chardonnay – would have gotten a couple more.  Woke up to a beautiful sunset over the plowed land and highly recommend this Harvest Host as and after White Sands at Sunset location.  The wind started to blow and the dust was pretty intense as we made a getaway.  

In fact the whole way through Texas was a dust storm – can’t say we really saw too much and the van is rockin here in Fort Stockton now with more wind tomorrow. I had to keep it under 60 mph the whole day.

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 safe zone away from the danger of falling trees. Then the next day, winter snow advisories all along our route were the next villains, but after the snowing  stopped and ice droplets melted off the windshield,  we finally hit the road on Feb 24.   Joshua Tree was the first stop to return the beautiful handcrafted digerdoe to the artisan who made it.  It is a truly beautiful piece that didn’t make the cut, and we didn’t want it to end up in a thrift store. On the way out found the Joshua Tree Saloon and a faux western little town.

  Would be a great outdoor music venue and music they do serve up unfortunately not on Thursday afternoon. Departed on Route 62 for some 200 miles until we hit up with I-10 n Arizona, but not before a hike in the Desert Lilly Sanctuary. 

This was perfect for a leg stretch that was desperately needed followed by a salad for dinner.  But no Lillies were to be found although some of the small desert wildflowers were starting to bloom and the place was a dried river bed of beautiful purple rocks. 

Overnighted at the Crawford’s Culdesac in Maricopa arriving at about 10pm. Unfortunately they were still in Ridgecrest, but it was just perfect for the sleep-n-go that we needed to catch up as we need to be in Fernadina Beach for Bo’s birthday on March 4th.

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 were two that had significance to the week – Eagles in the Super Bowl and the rearrangement of arrival dates for  Ann and Ed to the West and the hummingbirds, marking Grand mom and Poppy’s resting place with Jesse at Short Canyon along with some unexpected adventures, but that will come later.  It was so nice to have Ed and Ann here for the week, finally to visit Terri and Steve in Arizona (Super Bowl Location) and the Honeys(my three camping girlfriend)  also came to see just what shakes here in the Crust. A nice long week with family, the excitement of the great game,  the energy of the other Eagle’s fans at the Watch Party which was right next to the Stadium, and finally to lament over their loss.

 Back to the people and the original reasons for the Sibling trip – John’s Retirement.   People that flew to join us including former students, Katrina and Alan, Al David (Albert Bermudez) and Paul – and we know that it takes a lot of effort to get Crustside.  The Retirement Party was conceived over 6 months ago as John pounded down beers at the Flightline each weekend, and in this particularly interactive state got to talking with Reese at the Ven Food Truck which regularly served this location.  As we know from many years back, no celebration of John’s is complete without Cheesesteak, so the two devised a plan for this  celebration. One of the things that John really enjoyed about Flightline was that he almost always met a former student with whom to banter, but also those that regularly met him there like Gloria and Ryan, and completely unknown people who had anything that was printed on their T-shirts that sparked his interest.

 This could be hockey teams to Monte Python to Star Trek themes to name a few. John received his permanent Flightline Coaster early on. 

So the nostalgic part of the day began with three – four wheel drive vehicles heading up to Short Canyon. Usually that is not required but since the day before we had traversed the dirt road north of Sand Canyon and and finally ending up in Short Canyon, never finding the petroglyphs that were to be found off South Brown Road not North Brown Road. We knew from that day that the road was very sandy in spots.

This would be Ole Bessie’s final hurrah after keen olfactory Ann said she smelled burning electrical as we got on 395.  No one else  smelled anything until we were on the dirt road headed up,  finally other clues as  we almost didn’t make a turn in the sand dune since the power steering had ceased to exist.  This happened about half way up, but we were going !  Phone Calls from the trail vehicles confirmed that smoke was showing as we kept going.  Full-turn around heading down the hill at the parking area. Yes, we could just roll down now – no problem. We had business to attend, so the hood was open confirming loss of the serpentine belt.  

Hike up the canyon with the ashes and glass hummingbirds to the spot where we buried Jesse’s ashes.  Poppy had told us this is where he wanted to be laid to rest and since Grand Mom is always by his side she was coming too.  We were in our last week in the Crust and since a quorum of siblings and grandchildren were in attendance, we decided to place Poppy and Grand mom with Jesse to a beautiful place where we could alway return and remember those times.  There was also the hummingbird issue which also was a perfect place to have our family permanently overlooking Ridgecrest and alongside our loved ones.   John had had a glass piece made by a friend many years ago of humming birds perched on a glass branch. There was one for each of us with our birthdays etched in each and an egg for Jesse.  We had gotten it repaired once already because the hummingbirds just needed to fly and after the July 2019 earthquake, they had all flown, none broken just separated from the glass branch.  As this stage of our life is getting rid of stuff time, it was perplexing about what to do with this very delicate sentimental figurine.  It came to me as we were preparing for Ashes that we could place them secretly at Short Canyon.  So there our family is in the branches of a creosote facing Grandmom, Poppy and Jesses and Ridgecrest where our family started.   

Tears and memories and no slipping down the mountain accompanied this perfect impromptu ceremony. The weather was absolutely beautiful and we will have plenty of memories in photos and videos, and these won’t take up any space in Vinny. This important item was accomplished before leaving the Crust.

And now onto the celebration side – Flightline Party. But first getting down the Short Canyon Rd is on the docket. No more smoke – all is cool. The battery would need a jump, and we were off followed again by the two other vehicles. Good thing John still works out because no power steering on a suburban makes for just that. We made it all the way down the two mile dirt road and even through the high sand. And we thought Old Bessie was gonna lose her brakes first, hah.

 We parked her under the Brady’s Market highway sign  and said good-bye to this relic of 20 years, and 200,000 miles,  more nostalgic memories for this nostalgic filled day – of road trips and camping trips, and the numerous times that Jazmine was car sick.  What an adventure, and the real party has not even started.

Flightline Time..So many desserts came through that we decided that dessert could start anytime.  Peter made cheesecake and tiramisu, the Cosners made Caramel Brownies and  Jenny Twix Bars.  Beer was flowing and it was so fantastic to meet up with so many people that have made life in Ridgecrest so special as Al David played and sang.  And the cheesesteaks were delicious. 

No party is complete without “Jenny, Jenny” and “Rhiannon” which ended the night as we remembered all the music at our Meadowview House that was integral to our Ridgecrest experience.

Rhiannon 2014 Meadowview House John’s Cheesesteak Party

Cannell Meadow Trail, Kernville CA

Before we start the VanGo Adventure around the country, thought we had better do a bit more exploring in our own area. That brought us to Kernville one last time, and oh did we find a beautiful, never done before, Trail for this February hike! Shedding all outerwear as the day was beautiful, we didn’t complete the 22 mile trail, because the brewery was calling, and the sun was going down soon.

Best part of the hike, of course, was being with family, friends and dogs. The dogs had a great time, sticking their noses into all kinds of little holes during the hike, but the best part were puppy patties that they served at the Brewery. The original Kernville Brewery Restaurant has delicious food. My advice is to eat at the older one, and then go down to the newer one and sit out on the deck where the tables are perfect for playing banana grams or whatever else game that you prefer while enjoying another beer or two while the pups sit exhausted at your feet under the table.