Postscript

Glamping turned back into camping as we pulled into our driveway. Took a lot of work to unload everything in the Lark.  We still have 34-60 days of possible freeze.  That meant to be safe we needed to unload everything.  A good idea anyway, as 1/2 of what we took out will never go back in. Ed did our winterizing before we left Caesar State Park in southern Ohio.

Couldn't leave any food or linens for small animals to make a home. If ants can get in....so could little critters.  We park the Lark  in storage outside with no protection from the elements or intruders.

Typical there was the laundry to do. Food to put away and re-organize and a large home to get back into living quarters. The temperpedic  mattress was so cold, took two days to defrost from being as hard as a brick.

The winter (February) was the coldest in recorded history for Ohio.
The garden walls are heaving, but the fish are alive in the pond. Truly a miracle to me every year.  

Spent some time looking at the budget we set up and the true numbers.  We really did well, and didn't come close to what we had figured to spend. (First time in my life that has happened :)  Of course, gas dropped to $2.09 a gallon. That didn't hurt. We saved more money than expected by not living in our house the three coldest months of the year. We are "Happy Glampers".

Next trip we think will be to Holland Michigan to see the Tulip Festival and a stop at Warbler Migration at Magee Marsh the first two weeks of May.  Hope to see some of our new friends from the upper midwest and Canada again on the road.  

Eze is running around the house like a crazy cat.  And the house appears larger than it was.  Hm....optical illusion?

*****

March 12, 2015 Home Sweet Home

Our last stop was Caesar Creek State Park in Ohio.  Just north of Cincinnati.

We left Lexington in the morning.  We judged the weather just right. Sunny and dry and 50 degrees north as far as Columbus.  Piece of cake. Until:

Huge traffic coming up I75, 4 lanes heading south stopped for miles on the highway.  We were just saying how glad we were heading north, when we ran into 4 lanes of stopped traffic 28 miles south of Cincinnati.  All of the traffic was headed for one bridge. We crawled along and inched forward. No let up in site. So...we have options, no time limit and only wanted to reach Caesar 30 miles north of Cinci for the night. 

First ramp we are off and driving East to another route to another bridge over the Ohio River.  As navigator I was concerned about a "gray line" on the map. We are talking Northern Kentucky..off the beaten path.  That gray line on the map.. curving and up and down and little to no berm.  We traveled slowly and carefully but became concerned when the road started to narrow.  We pulled into a large John Deere tractor store with large parking lot.  We got some good information, do not attempt the route we had chosen as there was a low underpass that would be too challenging for our 11' of Lark. So off we are in another direction and a "good luck" from the guys at John Deere!  

It was a tough drive... no berm, narrow, winding and up and down. Ed drove the yellow line and fortunately only had a couple of pick-up trucks pass us in the opposite direction.  Adventure at every blind turn!  Adventure sometimes demands a really talented  driver.

We made the River bridge and the campsite at Caesar before dark.  Treated ourselves to Cincinnati Chili for dinner in Lebanon, Ohio and only 3.5 hours home in the morning.

  A quick stop at Pottery Barn Outlet in Jefferson and home by 2 in the afternoon on Thursday.

*****

STATS:

3648 Miles

84 Days

6 States

105 Bird Species

3 "lifers"

New Friends

Adventure

 

March 10, 2015 Kentucky Horse Park

We didn't know that the Kentucky Horse Park had a beautiful camp ground.  On our way down south in December we picked a less than wonderful State Park for our first overnight, this park came highly recommended by our fellow snowbirds heading back north.

You need to go there out of season, as it is a large park with full capacity when horse events are underway in the summer.  We pulled in later in the day and we were one of maybe 8 units for the night.  Quiet and pleasant evening.

In the AM we toured the Park, 3 museums, horse barns and good exercise. The grounds are large and must handle huge crowds in the summer and horse events.  Three gift shops and every "horse" item ever invented.  I enjoyed the horses and Ed was patient, as he has never been much interested in horses.

Ed with "fake" horse...the only kind he gets this close too! 

*****

Just like any vacation, when you start home you get the "bug" to be  home. We have work waiting for us.  We have been on the road almost 3 full months.  We could drive from Lexington to Cleveland in one day, however, we decide one more night would be an easier drive and as it turns out...good decision.

March 9, 2015 Over The Mountains and Through the Woods.

Time to leave the Beach :(

We are heading north today to DeSoto State Park at the very northern border of Alabama.  Not the destination, the journey. The park is on the north end of a scenic by-way.  We passed on the "easy" route (highway) for the adventure!

We didn't have a map of elevation. Elevation is important in Northern Alabama.

We started at the southern end of the bi-way....uphill...up mountain. Way up....then way down....way down.  Burned gas going up .... burned brakes going down.  We were really up in the clouds. Reminded us of the Blue Ridge Parkway, but not as driver friendly.

No photos...too busy navigating.  Ed knows how to down shift an automatic transmission. Amazing. Slow go, but great views.

We had a nice site for the evening...getting cooler.  Tomorrow we head for Baggage Unlimited.  This is a store known for collecting and reselling all airline passenger items left behind.  Super thrift!

******

We opened the shop this AM.  Yuck...what a bunch of junk. I'm a good thrifter...but this stuff, if left behind was worth the insurance claim and aggravation of losing it.  Lots of end lots, Chinese junk.

In and out quickly.  

We can say "been there, done that."

Spent the rest of the day driving to Lexington Kentucky, our next stop was  the Kentucky Horse Park.

March 8, 2015 ANTS......

We all know if you read something on the internet it is true.  Of Course.  When we make a move in the Lark, we use Merlin the GPS and the internet for information.  Maeher State Park looked good, several camper friends said it was nice with good water views. The only downside was some highway noise across the bay.
The internet, however, reported several campers complaining about ants; "don't forget your ant spray".  Nobody said what kind of ants, where the ants were to be founds, etc.  Didn't sound too dangerous and we were only spending one night, our last on Mobile Bay.

The sites were quite nice, with wonderful water views. The 75degree weather and sunny afternoon looked promising. We also enjoyed having our own sewer. No dumping needed. Without too much detail, it is like having public sewer to the Lark vs a septic tank.

I carefully looked down for "red ants", the biting southern kind as we disembarked. No ants found.  Fifteen minutes after we arrived a large trailer pulled in and the driver casually came over to ask: "any ants yet?"  What??  Told him we were only here 15 minutes before them.  He said,  "had ants coming into the trailer last year and they had ant spray if we needed it."  We never saw an ant.  

Pulling out of the site the next morning Ed had a funny smirky look on his face.  He turned to me as we drove off, "the ants were coming...sure enough. They were up to the electric box and swarming.  They didn't seem to have come up the electric cable into the Lark."  

Wrong.....by our next stop the tiniest ants were marching IN the Lark to Eze's food dish and the kitchen sink. It appears ants have been around a lot longer than humans and are very resourceful!!

Always pack ant spray!

North End of Mobile Bay

March 8, 2015 Lark pointed North

It just seems too soon to be going north.  Didn't we just get here!  If this winter has been an indication of how fast our life goes by, I'm planning the next trip.

Our new friends. Dave and Linda,  from just across Lake Erie from us in London, Ontario.

 They are on their way tomorrow in an Airstream Caravan to sample Cajun life and food in and around New Orleans, before returning to Canada.  Sounds fun!

We said our good byes and pulled out of Dauphin Island Campground at 8AM.  It was a very nice place to spend a month. We ended up with 70 species of birds on the Island and a total of 104 so far for the trip.  3 Lifers...all on Dauphin Island.  Brown headed nuthatch, Northern Gannet and Swallow-tailed Kites.
We missed the Black Whiskered Vireo and the Red-cockaded Woodpecker. And really, would we have recognized them if we saw them? I'm sure Ed would have.    :)

I said we were headed North....I didn't say how far.... We got to Mobile and the Northern End of the Bay, the sun was shining, 75degrees and pulled into Meaher State Park..just one more night on the water!!!!! Nice site, some good birding. Ed is out after a shot of a Kingfisher and Eze and I enjoying the rays from the Lark.

Tomorrow we head to Northern Alabama to Ft. Payne State Park. Weather looks good, we might be able to dodge some rain and keep temps above freezing.  If we get real lucky,  until north of Columbus Ohio.. all the way to Clev is always a long shot.

March 6, 2015 Never a Dull Moment

When we are traveling we like to support the local townspeople and their enterprises, especially fund raisers.  We did attend a chili cook off on the Island last weekend.

It was a surprise for us, as the island isn't very large and we had not heard or seen any advertising.  We were riding our bikes and were drawn to the music and tents.  We sampled chili, wings and even dirty rice with crayfish (I did, not Ed).  Our entry fee had a "door prize" entry and I always enter.  You don't enter...you don't win.

 I got a call from the local elementary school that I had won a door prize and we biked over to pick it up yesterday. A lovely watercolor/black ink Pelican by a local artist.  Love it.
Will be our first piece of artwork for the Lark.  We realized we have wall space but nothing personal hung.  Project when we get home. :)

******

Our day got only more interesting.....

We invited our neighbors, Linda and David, to come to dinner. I planned a crock pot of soup because we were having a cool windy day and seemed like a good idea. And it was.  

Soup on in the crock pot, Ed is out birding in the Audubon and I am on the computer.  Had stopped at the library and picked up some recent magazines to peruse.  Nice quiet afternoon indoors.

 Ed has always been comfortable in the outdoors.  He was a Boy Scout and a Coastie (USCG) on the great lakes for 4 years.  His favorite places: Yellowstone, Brice,  Zion,  Yosemite and many of our  National Parks.  He loves to flyfish (catch and release) and hike and bird and take photos.  The more remote the better.  I drag along and try to be brave.  Survival in the great outdoors makes me nervous.

I do know I can always count on him. He is not an alarmist and calm in all adventures.  We have crossed paths with bears and gone off into the wilderness in Yellowstone and driven the Road to the Sun in Glacier Nat. Park. Several events that I have been glad to have survived!

When he returned to camp I saw that he was observing a 100 foot pine tree 12' from the Lark.  He pulled some bark away and turned  and banged on the door. "We are moving the rig.. NOW... don't ask questions, I want to turn the key in 10 minutes." Jeez...

I grabbed Eze  into his carrier with ID and went through my procedure to hit the road.  3 slides in, all doors, drawers tightened down. All heavy objects on the floor.  Fridge and freezer locked down. Shades open to see the road. Where to put a large crock pot of piping hot soup?  In the sink with towel over...one bump underway and I would have potatoes on the ceiling.   Ed is busy disconnecting electric, water hose and jumps into the drivers seat.  Hello???

Seems said pine tree was cracking and splitting as we sat under it  and the wind had come up quickly to 25knots with "gale force" winds.  We moved the Lark to another spot, contacted the grounds keepers and helped move our neighbors away from the tree.  If that tree had come down we would have been cut in two, our neighbors would have had  a very big dent in their Airstream and the third camper with serious scotch and dent.  

When park  management  arrived they immediately cordoned off the area with yellow tape and street fences with warning signs. The tree comes down today, one way or another!  The winds were so strong, the Lark got buffeted a few times during the night. 

We did have soup dinner after all of the excitement calmed down. I was planning on Potato and Leek soup, however, there were no leeks to be had on or off island.... recipe is below and it is now known as Dauphin Island Crock Pot Potato Soup. Figured we would celebrate St. Patty's Day too...the Irish were good at Potato Soup!

Ingredients:

5 cups water with 1 tbs.  condensed chicken broth and 2 dried chicken cubes.

6-7 Medium  russet potatoes, peeled and quartered

One large sweet onion sliced thinly (my answer to leeks)

Salt and Pepper

Directions:

Put all ingredients into medium size crock pot.  Cook on low setting for 8 hours.  

Prior to serving, add 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley S & P to taste and add about 1/2 cup half and half just for a little creaminess. I smashed 1/2 of the cooked potatoes  and left 1/2 whole.

I also sautéed some fresh mushrooms and served them on top of bowl of soup.  Was really good! The four of us finished the pot!

March 2, 2015 Swallow-tailed Kite

Ed  stepped out of the Lark this morning and looked up and with his "eagle eyes".... shouted; we have Swallow-tailed Kites overhead.   I really don't look up enough.

We grabbed the cameras and bins and took off for the woods. These birds hunt over marshes and woods,  just like our Audubon site. They are in this area, but hard to spot.

Sure enough, within 15 minutes we eventually located a "kettle" of about 8 birds.  They are large raptors and are about the size of buzzards.  They came, we shot, they went.... LIFER #2 for the trip.

Not many good pictures, they fly about 35MPH and they don't sit down much!

March 4, 2015 A Northern Gannett Wednesday

LIFER....... A Northern Gannet

These seagoing birds don't come into  shore.  The ones we saw off the western tip of Dauphin Island this AM were way out to sea.

Just barely able to focus with the 600mm and Ed's D7100.  I know this because he took 600+ shots and we got a few "decent" ones. I did my best with photoshop, but Nat Geo is never going to want our specimen picture.

We are sure we saw these birds 30 years ago off the shore of Maine, but we were not counting then, so glad to add this lifer to our current list. We saw about 10 of them, diving and "fishing" off the bay side of the very tip of Dauphin Island W.  We rode our bikes 8 miles out and then walked about 2 miles on a remote beach to the site.  I don't need to tell you it was 10 miles back!

March 1. 2015 March Already???

Last November we talked about leaving Ohio  for Florida mid-December and not returning until March 15! 3 whole months away from home?  Could we really be away from home so long? Will we have a great adventure?  Will it be the worst thing we have ever done?  Can all 3 of us survive in the Lark for all those days?  I guess, looking back, it would not have been an adventure if we didn't have all of these questions.

******

If you have read my blog since I started, you already know it has been quite an adventure and we weren't even homesick !  We have had great times and will never forget our trip. For Sure.

*****

Eze has been a trouper. We did not know how Eze would do  living in a 30ft motorhome for a relatively long time. Remember cat lives, like dog lives are shorter than our own.  I have to say everything was pretty good until this morning for Eze.

 We were expecting a nice spring day, high in the 60's with sun. Since we had some rainy cold weather we were looking forward to a Sunday outdoors.  Eze woke us at the usual 6AM and Ed got up feed him and came back to bed. Normally Eze jumps back in to snuggle after his breakfast.  Went back to sleep and didn't miss him.

We were awakened to our ferry boat (we sit right next to the harbor) 3 blasts as he left the harbor for Gulf Shores.  Then a fog horn.. Ed said "forgot to tell you, really foggy out and chilly and good morning to sleep in."  The fog horn continued every few minutes as the ferry crossed the bay and finally disappeared into the fog.  I thought it was romantic, like waking on the Cape or Eastern Shore.

Eze thought, apparently, it signified doom.  He has one private spot that on a rare occasion he "hides".  Under the couch. He hid once when we were away, presumed it was a deer that came close to the rig.  Eze never saw one so close before and they (the deer) were grazing close by when we arrived back.

We don't know what it was about the fog horn....decibels, vibration who knows.  Eze stayed under the couch and would not  come out for several hours. Then he went window to window to see if it was attacking us. Not even treats would deter him from defending the Lark. It was funny, but we felt bad for him.  He has given us much enjoyment on this trip and we didn't want to see him so upset.

One thing we know about Abby memories...they are long... I know if the ferry returns with the fog horn, he will be back under the couch. So far, so good....the fog has not lifted, however the ferry has not returned either. Eze is now curled up with me while I am writing.  What a morning!

******

Ed was getting "house bound" and I was watching cooking shows, so off he went birding in the foggy wet morning.  Came back shortly for the camera. Sure enough he had the special moment of spotting a  wilson's snipe*  http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/wilsons_snipe/id   in the marsh.  If you are a birder that is a pretty big deal.  He's off with the camera and I hope to see him back with his picture of the snipe sometime today! Or tomorrow, or the middle of next week.

*Footnote:  Snipes are real birds, not something you went hunting for at night with your teenage love.

This is a Wilson's Snipe in case Ed doesn't get a shot!