Review:Skidaway Island State Park

If you anything about our adventures by now, you know we start out late, as usual. We left Thursday at approximately 10 PM, about ohhhhhh, 5 hours behind our ideal get-outta-dodge time. No big deal. About an hour into the drive, we started hitting a lot of thick, pea soup-ish fog. Not a fun happenstance! Really had to slooooow down from the posted speed limit to something that is more conducive to safe travel, around 45 mph. Slow going. Alas, we pulled into a Cracker Barrel at about 1:30 AM for a supposed "quick nap" before continuing on.

Needless to say, we awoke at 11 AM for breakfast. 11 AM!!! OK, so we're not morning people.

After a good breakfast at the CB, (what's not to love about CB?) we made our way to Skidaway. I-16 is a pretty uneventful (read: boring) drive to the park. And, well, here we are, sitting at Skidaway Island State Park.

Georgia's got it right for camping. Huge beautiful sites, all pull through. Skidaway looks like something from Jurassic Park. Wild looking trees and a pre-historic looking landscape sure do make for some interesting sites. And although the park doesn't have sewer (boo!) we do have water, electricity, and cable of all things! Niiiice.

There are, however, just a couple of negatives with the park:

Due to the massive amounts of rain we've been getting, mud abounds in the sites. So the pads for the campers aren't pea gravel or concrete and are a bit mushy. However, after some time to dry out, all is fine. We actually chose a site that was pretty dry compared to some neighboring sites and we were thankful for it. For a non-paved site (which all the sites are) it's amazingly level. No need to level left to right, even though we're on the ground without ashpalt. Bonus.

The streets are mostly OK; some are a bit winding depending on which loop you choose. We were in the Campground 1 and it was fine. A couple of sharp corners in the park in other loops, and as always, you just have to take your time when you're towing 27 feet of aluminum goodness. The streets are also all single lane, and none of them are one-ways! Ummm. This means someone would need to pull over to allow oncoming traffic to pass. Would hate to see 2 big rigs attempt this. Showdown!

Aside from these small issues, man, what a great park! Huge sites, and a stone's throw from Savannah.

We did get some time to get into town to take a look see and get some exploration in. One thing we need to mention is Desposito Seafood in Thunderbolt, GA. (I'm not kidding about the name. Thunderbolt. And no, it's not in Hazard County.) I had the low country boil (half pound of shrimp, potatoes, corn, sausage) and Jen had 1 lb. of boiled shrimp. Simple and delicious. (We had to get a pound of Snow Crab legs as well.) The restaurant is a bit pricey, and the wait was a little ridiculous, but all in all, it was worth it and was a perfect dive of a seafood shanty. Nothin' fancy.

Savannah's a good driving around kinda town. We took a look around at many of the town squares; they have a bunch of them and one is as beautiful as the next.

So....where to next? No idea. Would love to spend a full week at Skidaway since our time was so limited. We were impressed. One thing's for certain, it won't be long before we're on the road again.

P.S. Yes, it is possible to entertain in a travel trailer! We had an old friend of mine over for dinner and conversation. He got to show off his new truck with a fresh coat of mud from going 4 wheeling, and we showed off Wally. Nice seeing you again, Mark!

We're back, and wishing we weren't.

Hey all, we're back from our Florida Keys vacation. Saw and did a lot of cool things.

Here's some things to keep in mind on your Keys vacation:

1) Go to Sloppy Joe's. Yes, this is a name of a place, the source of 'the' Sloppy Joe. I had one, and it was the best I've ever had! This was one of Ernest Hemmingways haunts before he moved to Cuba. Plenty of pictures of him on the walls, and stories. Thinking that 'The Old Man and the Sea' was penned there.

2) Rent scooters. A lot less headaches, and parking is free (car parking is .25 for 10 minutes).

3) Take a sunset cruise. A very relaxing way to end a day.

4) Schooner Wharf. Have a drink, a cigar and enjoy the view. Throw crackers to the waiting tarpin.

5) Mallory Square at sunset. Didn't get a chance to see The Flying Cats, but saw some other impressive performers (and some not so impressive).

6) NEVER EVER SPEED! There is a ton of police presence, and there is only 1 road in and out. They'll git ya! Speed limits change a lot from 55 to 45 to 35 back up to 45. So be careful!

Just starting to peel now from the huge amount of sun we took in on this adventure. Ouch.

Day 3: Scooter go vroom vroom!

Just another beautiful day in the Keys. We learned our lesson in trying to walk around town to see the sites, just too blazing hot! We gave up and rented scooters, and what a difference! We tooled around town, until Jen had to stop in the pits for a last minute flip-flop repair (sadly, it wasn't repairable, had to get new ones). She almost wiped out in a parking lot, into a brandy-new Lincoln Town Car.

After the flip-flop exchange was made, we zipped around for hours. This was Jen's first time on a scooter, (she's quite the evil knievel) and she had a blast (as did I). Made parking much easier, and more cost effective as parking a scooter is always free, and a car is .25 for 10 minutes. Yowsas.

Stopped by Schooner Warf for some refreshment. (Cold Coke for me, another Pina Colada for Jen. Hmm, is this beginning to be a problem?! "Pina Colada Intervention" here we come.) If you like cigars, you can get one there. Hand rolled, made fresh. Haven't tried one yet, thinking about getting a box, though.

We took a sunset cruise on the Jolly Rover 2. A very relaxing way to end the day. It's an authentic four square sail schooner! Nothing like getting power from sails. Arrrr matey.

When we arrived back in port, we had to stop by The Conch Republic Seafood Company. Wow, had a great dinner. I had the Seafood Wellington, and Jen had the Sea Scallops. And another fruity frozen drink. The truly upsetting thing for us is that we haven't had the Key Lime Pie yet. Must rectify that today!

Plans for today: snorkeling followed by a sunset catamaran back into town. I introduced Jen to this a few years back, and she is hooked. Looking forward to getting up close to the fish of the area, and maybe finding the missing part of the pirate ship Atocha with the half billion worth of gold with it. If we do, in fact, find the missing spanish gold, you will likely not hear from us again as we'll resort to a life of debauchery, jetsetting and full time Airstreamin'. Just sayin'.

Day 2: What our trips should always be like

We got into our site late last night (as usual) at Blue Water Key RV Resort and were astounded at it,even in the darkness.

What we are about to tell you about is the best kept secret RV campground in the world, if not the universe. It has the usual ammenities (water, electric, sewer, cable, Wifi). But there are a few things it has that need mentioning.

The size of each site is HUGE. The site we are on is 35' wide by 80' deep. That's a chunk of real estate. The pad isn't that entire size though. You see, on the water bound side (oh yeah, did I mention that we have an easterly view of the Atlantic?) there is a tiki hut. You heard right, a genuine tiki hut. Well, more like a cabana. This "hut" has a wetbar. Two ceiling fans to keep things cool. Lights. Comfy chairs. Floating dock. The water! The moon! The view! The view! The view! Have we sold you yet? Actually, don't come here. It's terrible. (If you don't come then we won't have to fight you for a reservation again next year. Muuaahhh haaaa haaa haaaa.)

More tomorrow as we explore both this campground and the local attractions.

Valdosta, GA is almost in Florida! (But not quite.)

DAY ONE:

True to form, we left home base 2 hours later than we had hoped. That's OK, we're on vacation...finally. Nevermind the fact that we had ambitiously planned to get as far as Orlando...riiiiight. We've hunkered down in a Cracker Barrel parking lot for the night, eager for the morning to come. We'll get a decent breakfast (thanks Mummie) and then head further south on "lovely" (and endless) I-75. Looking forward to getting past the Florida expressway and seeing the sights, as well as our campground in Shangri-La. Stay tuned! Time for Zzzzz's.

Boiled Peanuts!

Boiled Peanuts! from Richard Mageau on Vimeo.

So simple, yet so ridiculously delicious! I like to call it the caviar of the South. (That's right, you heard that one here.) Growing up, my family used to go to Destin, FL every year (before it became overrun with mini-putts and t-shirt shops) for summer vacation. Like clockwork, we'd stop at a roadside produce shack somewhere in Alabama or northern Florida and pick up a hot, steaming bag of boiled peanuts. And I do mean STEAMING. They would be so hot you could barely touch the shells but were compelled to anyway because of the promise of salty, mushy peanuty goodness inside. The juice would run everywhere and it was a total mess but we didn't care. The salt would make your fingers prune and dry up like you'd been sitting in the bathtub for an hour.

We're not sure the exact way that boiled peanuts are made, aside from, well, boiling water. Oil? Definitely salt. And how long do you boil them? We suspect a long time. What we do know is that it is by far, the best snack food ever. Pairs quite nicely with a Moonpie and an RC Cola.

RI Here we come!

So yet another adventure awaits us. A surprise 80th birthday party for my mother, and a chance to get back in touch with people we've left behind up in Yankee territory (affectionately coined, of course.) But first, the trip planning!

View Trip to RI! in a larger map

We'll be ambling north up to North Carolina Tuesday night, after we're done with work. Makes for a long day but there are some advantages to driving at night. We'll be heading for a Cracker Barrel for the night. Next morning, we start our trip to New Jersey. We'll be again staying at another Cracker Barrel.

So you may be asking yourself, why Cracker Barrel? Well, they are very RV friendly. Just let them know you'll be staying overnight. They will let you do it, as long as it doesn't go against local ordinance. So a call would be a good thing to do before you try it. Also, it doesn't hurt to get a good breakfast before you start your driving day! Be warned...we have been startled in the middle of the night by trash dumpster people. THAT is a fun noise at 3 a.m. outside the Airstream window.

OK, after breakfast Thursday, off to Colonial Airstream to get some work done. I'm hoping it won't take more than a couple of hours. Then, to Normandy Farms in Foxboro, MA.

We've been hearing a lot of great things about Normandy Farms. Great location, nice pools (note the plural, there 4 onsite, including 1 indoor heated),and a recreation lodge (indoor pool, double jacuzzi, sauna, arcade, and an adults only loft. Wait. Adults only? Is that weird? Like, an RV swingers club? Eeek. Let's hope not.) Hopefully we'll have some free time to enjoy all the amenities.

24 hours, and we'll be on the road! Woot!

See you on the road!