Let the Good Times ROLL!
NATIONAL PARKS ACROSS USA -
Since September 28, 06, we have seen the following National Parks:
Badlands National Park – South Dakota
Big Bend National Park - Texas
Crater Lake National Park – Oregon
Great Smoky Mountains National Park – North Carolina
Mount Rainier - Washington
Mount Rushmore National Memorial – South Dakota
Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument - Washington
Redwoods National Park - California
Saguaro National Park - Arizona
Sequoia National Park - California
Yellowstone National Park - Wyoming
Yosemite National Park – California
National Parks and/or Monuments seen on previous vacations:
Jefferson Expansion National Memorial – St. Louis, Missouri
Lincoln Memorial & Washington Monument - DC
Everglades National Park – Florida
Grand Canyon National Park - Arizona
Haleakala National Park - Hawaii
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park – Hawaii
U.S.S. Arizona Memorial – Hawaii
National Parks we hope to see:
Death Valley National Park - California
Mesa Verde National Park – Colorado
Carlsbad Caverns National Park – New Mexico
Bryce Canyon National Park – Utah
Arches National Park – Utah
Canyonlands National Park – Utah
Zion National Park - Utah
Grand Teton National Park - Wyoming
______________________________
Tuesday, April 28 - 8:30 am we left Mt. Olive Shores, Polk City, FL to travel north to the ROD Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park in Live Oak, FL We made good time traveling US 33 we, I-4 W, US 98 N, 301 N, 50 W, I-75 N, I-10 and Rt. 29. The park is very wooded with Live Oaks everywhere, of course. Thankfully there is cable. Mitzy gets totally filthy whenever we walk her due to t he dirt and leaves and no grass. At least there are paved interior roads to help keep the dirt down. We went touring the park and saw Rees Lake and the grand Suwannee River.
Rees Lake is 200 years old, spring fed, and they catch and release fish here. There are horse stables, golf court, and a lot of planned activities.
There is much to do here, but the park is very empty as they had a huge musical 3-day event last weekend. The bugs are really bad here, especially the mosquitoes. Live Oak is a city in Suwannee Count in the heart of “The Original Florida”. The community was named for the large shade tree, which was a community meeting place. Like many “old down towns”, Live Oak is barely hanging on. The token sundry store, attorney, doctor and real estate office is about all there is until you drive through to see some fast-food restaurants near the interstate connection.
Thursday, April 30 - We took the truck and left the park around 9:15 am on a beautiful clear day. Not too warm either. Drove to the Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park. We have never taken the time to stop, but found it very informative and the park is beautiful and very shaded with all the old oaks and Spanish moss hanging on. The Carillon Tower is not as pretty as the Bok Tower in Lake Wales, but still impressive. The 97-bell carillon at Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park plays Foster's tunes daily. The carillon's electronic roller not only plays songs composed by Foster, but marks the hour and quarter hour with chimes that can be heard throughout the park. The interior base of the carillon tower is open to the public and features beautiful marble floors and walls. It serves as an extension of the museum, housing additional memorabilia and more dioramas depicting Foster's songs.
Very unusual piano.
b:if cond='data:blog.pageType !="item">
>
FULL TIMING
FULL TIMING? Our first thoughts on such a monumental change of direction in our lives started with the purchase of a 32' Toy Hauler-KZ 5th Wheel early 2006. We took a vacation in May and traveled the mountains of North Carolina. We liked the fact we had our own bed to sleep in and could see surrounding areas either on our Honda Gold Wing or GMC truck. However, during the vacation, we found that the KZ 32' 5th-wheel was entirely too small, even for a long weekend. We wanted to trade up. One thing led to another and we started to question the next three years before Marsha was scheduled to retire.After much soul-searching, prayer, and financial calculations, Marsha requested early retirement for personal and physical reasons.Full timing meant we were saying "goodbye" to all that is familiar. Everything happened so quickly we didn't have time to contemplate that aspect much. We research everything thoroughly before we purchase. This would be our new home and we wanted all the "bells & whistles" within our budget. Lazy Days in Seffner, Florida had a new National, 2006 Tradewinds motorhome available at the right price. It has a 400-HP Turbo diesel engine and many amenities. We did get the "cart before the horse" purchasing the RV before selling our home. It was the worst time of year to sell a home in Florida. We sold with only a month before closing! Thankfully, we had our new "home on wheels" in our back yard for preparation.
It became clear that our personal craving for travel and adventure overcame our requirement for a traditional home with all the things that seemed so important.Getting rid of clutter can be liberating. We did not want to pay for storage. Collectibles such as our Fenton glass, sets of crystal glass, or ceramic pieces were handed over to family members or close friends for their enjoyment. We had a two-day garage sale and anything remaining went to charity. We feel the flexibility and comfort of RV travel far outweighs any pinch felt at the fuel pump. Let the Good Times Roll!
Posts
