Looking Back

Having some free time on my hands I decided to go through some of the pictures on the computer and clean things up little. Though that I would post some of our favorite pictures from over years of camping. We have had all types of campers over the years and have had a great time in all of them. It would be hard to say the one we liked to most. The best part is all the good friends we have made over the years and still keep touch with.

Truck Camping

We had 3 truck camper over the years and loved this type of camping. It was easy to just pack up and go. One of our favorite places was camping at the Bull Pen on Assateague Island National SeaShore in Maryland. We had some great time there. The first truck camper was a 8 foot pop-up.

Our 2nd truck camper was a 9 1/2 foot hard sided camper. I could not find any pictures of the last truck camper , guess I some how deleted them. 

We had a lot of good time camping on the beach, great cook outs and lots of parties. This is where we made a lot of good friend and spent a lot of time laying in the sun.

Our Pull Behind

After the truck campers we decided to try a pull behind, a 33 foot was one side out. We did a lot of mountain camping with this camper and spent a lot of time in the Skyline Drive VA. area. This is one of our most favorite places to go camping and will be going there again this coming Oct. We like spending time on the drive looking for bears and have seem many over the years.

Bears we have seen 

Mountain Views

Our favorite sunsets

We have a lot more but don't have time to add them all it is getting late and I need to get some sleep. I will be adding more as time allows at a later date.

Dog days of summer

It has been in the 90 here for over a week with no rain in sight. I am done with summer might have to rethink our plans for next summer and go some places a little cooler in August.  We can not remember it being that hot before. And now we are hearing that I 10 is damaged because of all the flooding down in the South.. May have to look at a different route to Texas in October when we head South for the winter.. But for now cranking up the AC and staying inside.

Lost Post update

After two days of working on the Blog it seems that a lot of my older post are gone far good. Have not been able to fix the problem. Guess it time to just move on and keep on with new post of our travels. Will not be long and we will be headed South for the winter so will be updating the Blog as often as possible. See you on the road.

Lost Pictures

For some reason Blogger has dropped a lot of my pictures for my older post for 2015 and earlier. Seems that it some how lost a lost of my 2015, 2014, 2013 and all my earlier post.  I am working on trying to get them back but have not had any luck so far. Hoping I can fix it soon. This is the part I hate about posting a web site ( ugh ).

Summer Half Over Already

Assateague Island National Sea Shore

Our summer here on the Eastern shore of Maryland is half over already, Where has the time gone? We had a great time while we where at Assateague Island National Sea Shore. Met up with some old friends and also made some new one. That's the best part of traveling full time is getting to meet new people and making new friends. The weather was great although it did start to get a little hot the last week we where there. It was good  seeing all the great staff, They are some of the nicest people you could meet.

The ponies on Assateague seemed to be a little more active this year and there was a lot of fighting over females in the herds. Also saw a couple of new Foals this year. Loved seeing the ponies hanging around the camp sites . A lot of time they where trying the steal someones dinner. It can happen if you leave food out. We have seen a lot of tents and screen houses broken into by the ponies.

Janes Island State Park

As everyone knows Janes Island State Park is one of our favorite camp grounds. We have a lot of good friends here and our kids and grand kids are not far away. We like it here because the fishing is great and lots of seafood to be had. With the miles of water trails and the beach on the island it is paradise for anyone wanting to do a little Kayaking and Canoeing. Most of all the sunsets are beautiful.

Again we are making plans for winter and planning our route to Texas. We will be hosting at Lake Corpus Christi State  Park again this year and 2 others to be named later. Like last year we will be making a few overnight stays along the way. In the mean time I have a lot of things I would like to do to the 5th wheel before we hit the road, One of the biggest is to wash and wax the whole rig ( no little task ). We are looking forward to spending so time in little cooler weather. 

Internet

We now have a good Internet source again so we will try to do a little better job of updating the site a little more often. Most of the time campground WiFi sucks. We have found a few new devices that seems to work to boost WiFi signals and will post a update on them later. But for now we have to close. 

Assateague Island update

We are about half through our month as camp host  here on Assateague Island National SeaShore and everything is going great. The ponies are out and about and causing their normal problems. Most of it caused by camper not storing food properly and getting to close and trying to pet them (that's a big no no). We did get to see one of the new ponies a few days ago and where told there are two somewhere on the island that we have not seen. Hope to have some pictures soon. 

We again had to restring some of our Day-Night shades  but this will be the last time we should have to do them. This time I uses 50 pound test fishing, should take a lot to break . Did not get any pictures this time but will try on the last 3 shades when they  need to be repair.

We are looking forward to the upcoming 4th of July weekend.  The camp ground is fully  booked , so we will busy.  The fire works on the beach will be good if the weather stays noce.

Internet  is still limited here on the Island so will update again when possible.  I have been using  over my limit of data on my phone.

Assateague Island National SeaShore

We have been here at Assateague Island National SeaShore  for five days  now and everything is going great. We will  be camp hosting here until July 14. After the first two days of rain the weather has been good . It alway seems to rain when we get to a new place.

The ponies seem to be more active this year than in the past. They come around our camp site 2 or 3 times a day.  Alot of times while we are sitting around the fire they will show up for a visit.  The camp fires have been nice and great way to unwind after a long day.

The campground is very busy this time of year and the camp sites do not say empty for long so there is always something going on and someone new to talk with. We are looking forward to the 4th of July weekend and the big fire works show in Ocean City we should be able to see them here from the beach

The only thing missing here is Internet access or wifi some we will update as often as possible.

Spring Update

We have not had much to post the last month or so. We are getting ready for the busy season here at Janes Island State Park. The park is looking good and ready for a busy camping season.

Annual Get Together
We are looking forward to our annual
get together with park staff and camp host. It is all you can eat steam crabs, chicken,  shrimp,  clam strips  and  corn on the cobb.  I ate way to much last year and I plan on doing the same thing this year. It should be a great time we have a lot more people going this year.

Truck Damage
A couple days ago I was backing up and heard a noise and felt a bump.  I got out and walked to the back and saw the damage . Where did that tree come from? It was one of those " oh shit moments ". Going to drop it off tomorrow to get it repaired.  Guess we will be driving a rental car for the next week or so.

Back In Maryland

We are back in Maryland Janes Island State Park where we will Camp Hosting for the big part of the summer. It was nice coming back and getting to see all our friends and family that we had not seen in a while. I think the bad weather was following us because on the day we arrived at our site at Janes Island Sate Park it was raining hard and we could not get into our site because of the soft ground and the mud, so we had to setup on a water front ( not a bad thing ) until our site dries out. Then on day two we woke up to this.

Thankfully it did not last long, it rained again and most of it was melted in a few days. Maybe we are done with the bad weather for now (thinking spring).

Now that we are back and will be in one place for a while we have a few projects that we are thinking about and want to do. I have been working on the plans for our wifi repeater for a while now and think that we have decided on the parts that we will need and where to install it. This has been in the planning stage for a long time and hope to get working on it in a week or so. One of the other big projects we are thinking about to removing the carpet in the sitting area and installing wood or laminate flooring. We are tired of dealing with the sand and dirt in the carpet and it will make it a lot easier to clean when we go to Assateague Island National Seashore June 15th - July 15th. and then return back to Janes Island to finish out the summer before we head South again for the winter.

We are really looking forward to hooking up with some of our camping friends that we have met of the years. They will be camping with us in the coming months and a few will be joining us as camp host. Until then we a enjoying the sunsets and waiting for a cold  pitcher of beer and steam cabs.

Winter 2015 - 2016 Trip Review

Our winter trip South stated out with us leaving Maryland the first of Oct. and heading to Front Royal Va. where we spent a couple of days at Front Royal campground before heading to Big Meadows campground in Skyline Drive Va. for two weeks with our good friends and fellow camp host Vince and Nancy. We meet these guys while we where camping at Janes Island State Park in MD. and became good friends.  A lot of time was spent setting around the camp fires and talking about where we where going next and what or where we were going to eat.  We also where lucky enough to see a mother and her three cubs feeding in the wood near one the lookouts.

After two great weeks of fun and sightseeing it was time to leave and said our good byes to Vince and Nancy and start on leg two of our Trip.

Stop number 3 on our way to Texas was Sevierville TN. where we would be spending a few days shopping and sightseeing. I picked up a few jars on Moonshine that I planned on sharing with our friends in Maryland we return to Janes Island State Park.

The next stop (4) was in Birmingham AL. where we stayed for one night at Tannehill Iron Works Historical State Park before moving on. Tannehill is a nice and clean little State Park. We did not have time to see a lot of it but did like what we did see. 

Stop number 5 was in New Orleans for a few days. We hit Bourbon St. on day 2 two. All I can say if you have never been there put it on your bucket list. This is also where we had break down #1  a bolt in the shift linkage came out causing it not the go in Park. Had it fixed and we where back on the way. Then as we where pulling out of New Orleans to our next stop we had break down #2 lost all the brakes on the 5th wheel. After 3 hours in the shop we where back on the road and on our way.

Stop number 6 was just outside of Huston Texas where we stopped at Walmart for the night after a long day and was too tired to move on. After a good nights sleep it was time to fuel up and move on. Diesel fuel seemed to be getting cheaper making us happy.

Stop number 7 was Leisure RV Resort and Campground in Fentress TX.  where we had planned on staying for two months as Camp Host. On day two of our stay we where evacuated from the camp ground because the management said that the San Marcos river at ran through the camp ground was at flood stage and we had about 3 hours to get packed up. Happy to say we made it out in time. This is what it looked like after we when back to see the damage.

After seeing all the damage in the campground after the water level had dropped back to normal we decided we did not what to pull our 5th wheel back in and hook up to electric boxes that just hours before where under water. If was at this point that we decided to start toward Corpus Christi for a week or two and spend a little time with family. 

Stop number 8 Lake Corpus Christi State Park. We pulled in thinking we where going to stay about 2 week two weeks and then moving on to Arizona for the rest of the winter before going back to Maryland for the summer. As we where checking in we learned that they where in need of a Camp Host due to the fact that hosts that where due in had broke their and could not come. So we decided to stay as Hosts for the next two months before heading to Arizona. This is where we had break down # 3 truck was dead and would not start ( two dead batteries ) in the truck. Then about two weeks before we where due to leave we received a call from Ocala National Forest. They where in need of a Camp Host, so again we had a change in plans and at the end of our stay in Texas we would be headed to FL.

Stop number 9 Cracker Barrel in Lafayette Louisiana after a long day on the road and in need on a good meal and some sleep. After a good night of rest we where back on the road.

Stop number 10 Fontainebleau State Park in Mandeville Louisiana where we stayed two days before hitting the run again. 

Stop number 11 Falling Waters State Park Chipley FL. This park has a water falls the drops into a large sink hole. Did not think we would see a water falls in FL. Like most of the stops we made it was raining when we setup at our campsite. We did manage to get a nice cement site with lots of space.                                                                                                                                                         

We enjoyed our stay and got some much need rest before moving on.

Stop # 12 Ocala National Forest our finial stop before going back to Maryland for the summer. Ocala National Forest is a large park ( 630 sq miles ) in central FL with several campgrounds within the park. There are miles of ATV and UTV trails for everyone to enjoy. Most of the campgrounds are very primitive with most having no hookups at all so if you are planning on camping there bring water and empty holding tanks. We had a nice cement pad site with sewer hookup.

 The Forest service supplied a 3000 watt Honda generator with gas and a 100 gallon water tank. We are at Lake Delancy West campground in the Northern part of the forest. This is one of the more popular campground due to the fact that you could unload and drive your ATV and UTV to and from your campsite. We enjoyed our time at the park even though camping with no hookups can be work at time. The weather in in FL. the last few weeks we where there was not as warm as we would have liked causing us to have to run the propane furnace more than we would have liked causing us to have the refilled every 4 or 5 days. 

We did not get to update the web page because we had no internet or cell signal in the forest.

 One of the roads coming into our site was 3 1/2 miles long dirt road. This is one of miles of road running through the forest.

The road in could get a little messy after it rained but for the most part the Forest Service did a good job keeping it graded. 

We decided to cut our stay in FL. short by about 3 week to start back to Maryland where we will be spending the summer at Janes Island State and Assateague Island National Seashore. We departed FL. on the 8th of February for Maryland. On the way back we noticed that the battery light came on in the truck. Looks like it is not charging. After a long day of driving we decided to pull into a Walmart for a few hours sleep. The next morning the truck started up fine but after a few miles the battery light was back on again. It was at it point that we decided to drive straight through to Maryland. 

Ocala National Forest - off the grid

We are at the end of month one being off the grid at Ocala National Forest  in FL. Being off grid is a lot of work sometimes having to have water trucked in and gas for the generator.  Our battery bank is doing better that we had hoped , we seem to be able to run off the inverter for 4 to 5 hours at a time . Not sure at this point if we are going to add solar this year are maybe just a couple more batteries . We have made out good with propane on the cool night. Our propane tanks where out of date so had to have them retested before they would refill tnem.

The campground is one of the busiest in the forest because campers can ride the their  ATV and  UTV  in the campground so it can get a little loud at time. But so far we are enjoying it.

We have no cell or Internet signal in the park so have not had been able to post updates as often as we would like. In fact we are heading back into the Forest  so it is time to close so will update more later.

Ocala National Forest

We arrived at Ocala National Forest yesterday where we will be camp host for the next couple . We will be out grid as far as phone signal and Internet goes no signal in the forest. We will be taking lot of pictures and will post them when we have signal. We will have a UTV to use while we are here so we can ride the roads and  trails to look for bears. Having great weather today first time seeing the sun since we left Texas.  We update as soon as possible.

Falling Waters State Park - Park Review

Yesterday we arrived at Falling Waters State Park  in Chipley FL.  We are taking another little break  before heading  back on the road  tomorrow . We are hoping maybe we will see the sun tomorrow we have not seen it since we left Texas.

Falling Water State Park
Rated  🌟🌟🌟🌟⭐

Falling Waters Sate Park is a small park not far off I 10 in Chipley  FL.  Some of the sites have full concrete pads  and all sites have water and electric. There is a nice day use area and even a water fall. The sites seem to be level and fairly easy to get into. There is a beach area for swimming  in the lake near the day use parking. This is great if you just want to relax. If you are planning to stop in you should call ahead the sites seemed to fill up fast.

Fontainebleau State Park Review - Back on the Road.

Will we are back back on the road again and hoping to make the rest of the trip to Florida in the next two days. We are due there on the 3th. Yesterday we had a lot of rain so it was not good for sightseeing. We did do a little riding around the area but the rains put a damper on things. Hoping we can out run the rain today.

Fountainbleau State Park Review - 4 stars

Fountainbleau State Park in Mandeville Louisiana is a nice park not far off I12. The sites are mostly level and spaced out nice so that they are not on top of each other. However if you have a bigger 5th wheel or Travel Trailer some are very tight and  impossible to get into. The days we where there the park had a lot of rain so most if not all of the sites had large amounts of standing water. Some sites had so much water they where unusable. The park has a nice day use area and a great beach. The bath house in the day use area is one of the biggest we have ever seen. There was even a pond with signs the read Do not feed the Alligator. We have still not been able to see one maybe next time.  Most of the sites have electric and water, but no sewer hookup. The WiFi in the park worked very well and the signal was 4 bars most of the time. No password are sign in needed. There are several dump stations in the park that easy to get to. The Park is close to shopping, gas and restauants. We would stop here again when we are in the area and maybe next time it will be a little drier and sunny.

Long Days Drive - Back in Louisiana

We pulled out of Texas on Monday in route to Florida.  We had a long and every windy drive and we drove a little a little longer than planned. After stopping at Cracker Barrel  in Lafayette Louisiana . for a bit to eat we where so tired that we decided to just spend the night there and head out again on Tuesday. 

After have a good Breakfast we where back on the road. We decided to only drive 2 to 3 hours on Tuesday so we could recover  from the drive the day before. We stopped at Fontainebleau State Park  in Mandeville Louisiana.  We are planning on getting  back on the road again on Thursday but only for a couple hours as we do not want to be on the road for New Years Eve. Now it is time for my nap.

Final week in Texas

This is our last week in Texas at Lake Corpus Christi State Park.  We have enjoyed our stay here and meet some nice people and made a few more good friends. It was nice getting to spend a little time with family  that live about 45 minutes away. We have a few other fulltime RV  couples here in the park and have had fun talking with them and exchanging stories about our travels. Fun seeing how some have their rigs lighted up for Christmas.  We managed to put a few lights on our 5th wheel also. We will be headed to Florida soon and looking forward to some more warm weather . We sure not not miss the cold and snow of winter or I should say I do not Gwen on the other hand loves the snow.

We will camp hosting at Ocala National Forest when we get to Florida.  Not sure just what we will be doing yet but we are looking forward to getting there and setup. We have some friends that are camping in the area and looking forward to hooking up with them.  Should be a time.

Lake Corpus Christi State Park Revie

Rated 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Lake Corpus Christi State Park  is located in Mathis Texas about 45 Minutes out side of Corpus Christi.  Most of the RV sites are pull through  sites and are level. One loop has full hook up and  one has Electric and water only , there is a dump station not far away and easy to get in and out of even with the bigger rigs. The site have a fire ring and picnic table and most of the tables have  canopies built over then making it nice in case of bad weather. All the sites both RV and tent sites are setup so that they are not on top of each other. The views of the lake are great and there are a couple of fishing piers ro fish off of. The day use areas also have nice picnic tables with canopies  and a fire grill for cook out . Lake Corpus Christi  is a great place to go and spend a weekend  or more and a great place to spend the day.

Travel Plans Update

It has been confirmed we will be going to Florida in January for 3 months. We will be camp hosting at Ocala National Forest in Florida. We are looking forward to hooking up with friends we have in Florida that we have not seen in a while. We are planning our route and updated our GPS . Had to end up updating it at my niece's house while we where there for Thanksgiving in Corpus Christi.  The wifi in the park that we are at works sometimes with a weak signal at best and we can see the antenna on the bath house and still can not get a signal most of the time.

We have been looking into buying a Wifi repeater for the RV to help with weak campground Wifi signals. Not sure at this point what we need or want. We have been looking at a few systems and reading some of the reviews to see what others are having good luck with. Would like to find one with a our door antenna.  In the meantime if you have something that is working for you feel free to drop us a line . Will post updates as soon as we have something that's work.

Change in Travel Plans

Looks like we may have a possible  change in our travel plans.  But thats what RVing is all about you never  know where you might end up. We where planning on going to Arizona after we finished up in Texas but now might be headed to Florida. We where contacted by a State Park in Florida  looking for camp host. We will know for sure on Monday.  If we decide to to go we will be in Florida until the end of March and then headed  back to Janes Island State Park in Maryland for the summer. Will upate as soon as we know for sure.

Lake Corpus Christi update

Not anything exciting  happening the last few days. We are settling  into to our new Camp Host gig at Lake Corpus Christi State Park.  We have been spending the last two days painting some new park signs and learning our way around the park. This is a really  nice park with a great view of the lake.

We have been able to do a little sight seeing in and around the Corpus Christi  area. We took a ride on Ocean Drive , it has a great view of the Gulf of Mexico.  Hoping  to do a lot more  in the next few weeks. Maybe diesel fuel  prices will keep coming down today we payed $2.04 a gallon and we can do a lot more sight seeing.  But for now got to get back to painting signs.

A Day of Rest

Today we finally got the have a day of rest and just hang out at the camp site. We are having some great weather but looks like that may change tomorrow they are calling for rain. While sitting out side I saw this rather large ant hill, after asking around I found out that they are Fire Ants and they are nasty.  Not. going to sit near them again.

The view of the Lake from the camp sites are really nice and the park has a great day use area with tables and shelters. A great place to spend the day and have a picnic. Now if we could only get a good WiFi connection.