We say goodbye to 2016

This was a big year!  Lots of great stuff happening, and we renewed our motorhoming commitment with the purchase of Blowin-in-the-Wind 2.  Another Winnebago 30ft RV; this time with a third slideout for our bedroom, and a more homey feel with a dining table and chairs......and Morey's favorite option, the television that lowers into the dining buffet. 

So we say goodbye to BIW. 

And we welcome BIW2! 

The big question.....Do we start our "States Visited" quest from the beginning, or do we build on our current 47 states visited??  Which would mean we only have to travel to Rhode Island and Alaska.  (Hawaii doesn't look too doable.) 

Fort Desoto County Park

Recommended by our RV friends, we pulled into our campsite here at Fort Desoto, just south of St. Petersburg.  Nice sites; all very private with Florida vegetation between us and all of the RVs; and then the water views from the back of our site.  Nice place to spend a week!





Lots of great stuff to do here....  paved, wide bike trails to the ends of the key, a great snack bar and beach shop with 16 flavors of ice cream, a nice beach on the gulf with sugar sand, and two forts from the Spanish American War to explore.  We DID have to be careful at the forts......

   

Captain Toe steering us to Egmont Key

Another day we took the ferry to Egmont Key, snorkeled around some of the ruins of Fort Dade, then walked the key where we saw a Gopher Tortoise, moving slow.........

Tomorrow we clean up BIW and get it ready to sleep here in Tampa, while we fly home for the holidays.  We'll be back in February with all of our camping gear from another trip to Cinnamon Bay in the USVI.

We found...Low Key Hideaway !!!

After 6 days of extreme activity at Disney, it was time to find a quiet quirky place where we could watch the sunset drop below the marshes here on Cedar Key.  On the "Nature Coast", a couple of hours north of Tampa is this very historical key.  We pulled our RV into Low Key Hideaway which has 3 RV spots with full hookups, and a small motel with 8 rooms.

Before doing some biking and checking out the history and the eateries, we first made a stop at the on-premises Tiki Bar where Ruthie ordered the Hideaway Special...she definitely enjoyed it with the three shots of rum in a slurry of pink juice. 

Of course we didn't start imbibing until we had parked BIW facing the marshes with a primo view out of our windshield.  Relax we did.

Over the next few days, we biked around Cedar Key.  We discovered that Yulee's railroad terminated here, coming from the east coast at Fernandina Beach (another of our favorite Florida spots).  Cedar Key was a major port for shipments to Cuba and Central America in the late 1800s.  Cedar Key was also the manufacturing source for Faber pencils (until all of the Cedars were cut down).  It wasn't until Yellow Fever, Malaria, and the horrible heat of south Florida was conquered, that this area lost its worth, and population.

Today, Cedar Key is a low budget vacation spot.  Getting clobbered by hurricanes every 10 to 20 years has caused for newer buildings to start at the 12 foot level.  There was a recent hurricane this August 31st with a 12 foot storm surge which shut down the Low Key Hideaway; just now getting back in business. 

We did get to Tony's for its world class clam chowder and a great gulf shrimp sandwich.  So good, we bought a case of this chowder to take home.

And couldn't miss the butterflies just outside our window

Another Magical Trip to the Magic Kingdom

For a very magical birthday present for Jordan's fifth birthday, we booked 6 days at Walt Disney World. 



Michael, Jess, & Jordan stayed at Port Orleans Riverside, while we set up BIW at Fort Wilderness.  Disney did not disappoint! 

Arriving on Halloween, we were amazed at all of the incredible decorations at the campground.  And all we had were some pink flamingo lights.........oops, we left them at home.  After setting up camp, we took a short walk over the docks and watched the 9pm fireworks and then the electrical light show on the lake (hasn't changed since our first trip in 1972). 

Next day at the Magic Kingdom, just a short boat ride away.  Met Jordan and his parents at the main gate and we then set out for a dynamite day at the MK.  First stop, the Flying Carpets, then the Jungle Cruise, Pirates of the Caribbean, etc, etc.  Saw two great parades too.

Then a day of leisure, hanging at the pools; before the following day at the Animal Kingdom.  Took the Safari ride where the animals are REAL, and on to a number of shows and more rides.  Pretty worn out, but there is more!

Back to the Magic Kingdom to spend time in Fantasy Land.  Getting pretty good at Fast Passing too.
Stayed for the awesome fireworks initiated by Tinker Bell flying directly over our heads!!

What a great way to celebrate Jordan's fifth!

Birthday celebration in Aberdeen, NC

We pulled into Aberdeen; setup our BIW in Michael & Jess's driveway, and started our celebration of Jordan's fifth birthday............

But first, his last baseball game of the season.  Jordan had an awesome hit and rounded the bases on the way to home plate!  Go Jordan with his first season.

Celebrated Jordan's birthday with a birthday brunch at Hillside...an old southern house with incredible food.  Shrimp & grits, and all of the great southern cuisine...loved it all, but too much to sample!  Then to his favorite Mexican restaurant for his birthday dinner............honored with the official Mexican Sombrero.

The Virginia Creeper

This 34 mile rails-to-trails bikeway is named the Virginia Creeper because the N&W steam engine strained to climb the 3,000 feet to White Top Mountain to pick up logs for the lumber and furniture industry down the tracks.  Or is it because the plant, the Virginia Creeper, is climbing the trees, through the  huge rhododendrons, and around all of the rail trestles?  Either way, the former rail line now is a wonderful biking trail!

We grabbed the bike shuttle from Damascus, VA where we were camped on a nice site along Laurel Creek, and got dropped off near the top of the line.  From there it was 17 miles of mostly coasting and braking as we rolled across over 30 bridges, through woods, and farmland.  Caught peak Fall color.............WOW !  Not that we exerted much, but had to stop when we got back to Damascus

at the local ice cream shop.

For our second day here, we decided to finish the bike trail, so we biked out of Damascus to Abington, another 17 miles.  This time we had to pedal, but another magnificent day of views of the streams, the woods, the farms and old log cabins, and again a beautiful blue sky day in all its Fall glory.  And instead of ice cream when we arrived in Abington, we headed for great BBQ at Bone Fire; Ruthie claims one of her best BBQ ever!  Two great days on the Virginia Creeper

We're on our way....Fort Frederick, first stop

Heading south for the winter, Fort Frederick is our first stop.  This fort was built in 1756 to protect the settlers from the Indians and the French.  It was built so strong, stone versus the typical wood picket construction, that it was never attacked.  Used during the French & Indian War, the Revolutionary war (to hold British POWs), and finally the Civil War, this fort then was sold off to a local farmer and fell into disrepair.  In the 1930s, the CCC restored the fort, and Fort Frederick became the first Maryland State Park.

We pulled in with our new Blowin-in-the-Wind-2 motorhome and setup in a lovely campsite backing up to the Potomac River. 
Although no hookups nor bath facilities, it is a perfect place to check out all of the history, and then..............

Go biking on the C&O Canal Towpath and the Western Maryland Rail Trail. Three days and 55 miles later, we loved the biking paths, the scenery, and the wonderful fall weather!  We had biked the C&O in May of 2008 in driving rain.............this time pure blue skies.

Biking the Great Allegheny Passage with our friends

Planned almost a year ago when we were with our RV friends, the Zamostnys at Death Valley NP....(Although we didn't plan to meet them with our new motorhome.)  Well, we pulled into Ohiopyle State Park and setup for 5 days of biking on the GAP.

Unfortunately, rain was in the forecast for our entire time, but we were able to get in pedal time between rain drops.  With a lot of shuttling help from our friends, we biked portions of the GAP.  What a well maintained trail, even with all of the rain.  We biked through forests, across rivers, and even through an old restored rail tunnel.

We will have to come back to the GAP and finish the trail.  Too nice not to!

Back to Hershey for a real sweet treat

We decided to head back to Hershey, PA to walk the biggest RV show in America.  Just finished maintenance on our current motorhome with new tires,  starter battery, etc so it would be ready for our Fall and Winter trips.  So, no chance that we would do more than just check out all of the new RVs.....

Well, we saw one that we really liked, got a good deal including a good trade-in....and we bought it!

Big features include a second queen bed when the sofa is opened up, and a full size loft bed.  Then there is the nicer décor, the full size queen in the bedroom, and more storage everywhere.  Also, Morey likes the updated electronics including an inverter, LED lights, and the generator transfer switch. 

Swapping motorhomes on Thursday, and ready to road test with our first camping adventure to western Pennsylvania.