IT'S OFFICIAL!

“...I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move.” – Robert Louis Stevenson

well, folks, (insert mary tyler moore music) we're gonna dooooo it! we're puttin' our money where our mouth is and gearing up for the granddaddy of all road trips. after much thought and deliberation and serious logistics wrangling, we've decided to put everything we own in a storage facility and become full-time airstreamers and travel the U.S. until...well, we get sick of it. say what?!

we're planning on an early august 2010 departure, so there is much to do between now and then. pack every stitch of our house, sell my car (bye bye little blue passat wagon!) and make sure we are equipped from a business perspective for life on the road. being that we both are in the very fortunate position to have jobs where we can work from home, we figured that home could just as easily be a silver twinkie, no? that means some pretty serious techie stuff, but after a few trial runs in savannah and charleston, i think we've sorted that end out and we're both able to do our jobs (quite well, i might add) from the road. we've even upgraded our truck (affectionately dubbed "tundy too", since we traded in the '08 tundra for a swanky, more comfortable '10 tundra).

i can't tell you how personally exciting this is for us. but you might wonder exactly why we are doing this. living in approximately 200 square feet with your spouse and (often times a lil' gassy) dog means a few things for sure: you had better get along really well, have a top-notch sense of humor and not get hung up on little idiosyncrasies that living in a trailer can present. as cushy and creature-comforty as the airstream is, it's still a small space and let me assure you, every nook and cranny counts. but all of these little things pale in comparison to the idea of seeing this country via the winding back roads, the small towns and the big cities, too. weekends will be filled with route 66 oddities, fall festivals in towns we've never heard of, quirky local attractions, and the natural beauty of state and federal parks and delightful people whom we'll meet along the way. when you are pulling your home behind you on wheels, it's a new front and back yard every week. i love that.

aside from the incredibly compelling adventure-of-a-lifetime bit, there are also some significant savings to be had from paring down for a while and living a little simpler. sure, you have park fees, but you also have no rent/mortgage and no utilities. my car payment and insurance goes away, too. so we figured, why not save some decent cash, and when we're tired of living like gypsies, we'll have a nice little down payment for a house upon return.

we do hope you'll follow our adventures in the wild blue yonder through this blog and also via twitter (@airstreamADV). we'd also love to hear some "must sees" from all of you – feel free to share the places out there that can't be missed, whether that be a legendary diner, a museum or a roadside produce stand.

see you down the road, friends!

xoxo,

jen & richard

We're baaaack! That's right...round two at Skidaway State park in Savannah, GA. We just couldn't stay away.

We love this park! This time around, we're looking around a bit more due to a little longer stay, and we have lots of goodies to report.

Occasionally, we wander into the most interesting circumstances (like the time a classic car show popped up around us in a Wal-Mart parking lot). This time, it's Mardis Gras on Tybee Island. We were magically transported to a psuedo-Mardis Gras parade, complete with beads, costumes, a Yorkie in a "royal carriage" (don't ask) and even a Dixieland band. Quite enjoyable.






As for good eats, The Crab Shack on Tybee Island is, by far, the best seafood place around. Previously, we dined at Desposito's, and that had some good points. However, The Crab Shack had better tasting seafood, and better local flavor. They have their own gator ponds out front, and they sell gator snacks to feed them. The temp was way too cold for these poor critters to do much but stay still and keep their body temps up (they are cold blooded, after all) so they weren't too frisky.

We had the good fortune to run into "Aluminum Bliss", fellow Airstreamers and young couple on the move. It's always exciting pulling into a campground and finding another Airstream, but even moreso when we can actually chat with the fellow-minded travelers. Luckily they had their web page address displayed on the back window. Of course, we had to go to the web page to find out who it was. Pleased to meet you guys, Lani and Chris. Happy travels.

In event of a rainy Georgia night, Red Box video rentals is an idea whose time has come. Select a video, insert credit card, get movie. And rental fees of $1 a night! There's a Red Box at the Kroger just 5 minutes away, so check it out if you need a movie for the night.

Bonaventure Cemetery is gorgeous, peaceful and huge. An ideal spot for a bike ride or an afternoon picnic, if you don't mind the whole surrounded-by-the-dead thing. We didn't have enough time to see it all. Well, actually, we almost did have enough time as THEY LOCKED THE EXITS AT 5 PM SHARP! So yeah, a scary moment for us and 4 other cars that were locked in. However, someone made a call and the groundskeeper came back to release us. Imagine spending the night locked up in there. Eeeeek.



We never tire of the downtown area of Savannah, filled with elegant and stately squares and moss-covered Live Oaks. Spent a few hours walking around town and stopped for malts at Leopold's Ice Cream, near SCAD (Savannah College of Art & Design).

On to a few recos for happy camping: if you want quick, portable, propane based heat, look no further than Mr. Heater Buddy. I have always wanted one, but thought the consumption of propane would be too expensive. Well, they went on sale, (a good excuse to buy anything, right?) and I had a gift certificate, so I bought one. Best purchase ever! A single one pound tank will last for a few hours, and keeps from running the furnace as much, so we're not blowing through our larger tanks and it's not using nearly as much propane as I thought it would. So if you are on the fence about buying one, go for it, you won't be disappointed.

As always, sad to be heading out tomorrow, but thankful for a great long weekend in this charming Southern gem of a city.

See you on down the road!

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.