Texas Beach Bliss
We’ve already highlighted how Texas really surprised us with the quality – and extent – of its beaches, and we thought it was worth underlining that element of our Year On The Road travels with another snapshot video. This is Whitecap Beach, Corpus Christi, heading towards Padre Island National Seashore (in our previous video). This is where we discovered an unexpected opportunity to go beach driving. So we did…
All in all, Texas boasts around 370 miles of beach delights (that’s about 40 miles longer than the distance from London to Edinburgh for our UK friends and followers!), and we thoroughly enjoyed practically every mile of it. The City of Corpus Christi was also a very pleasant discovery, and there was even more in store as we continued our north-easterly route along the coast.
Padre Island National Seashore
The travel may be over (for now!), but we still have plenty of material to share from our recently-completed Year On The Road RV adventure, and here is another snapshot video from the Texas leg of the trip, highlighting the wild – and completely natural – Padre Island National Seashore. This pristine 66-mile stretch of barrier island along the south Texas coast is one of the few remaining coastal prairies in America and feels like a true wilderness in its own right, rich for exploring and packed with bird life:
This whole area was completely new to us and we would certainly come back this way again. With the happening city of Corpus Christi and miles of unspoilt, sandy beaches a metaphorical stone’s throw away, it is the ideal blend of urban setting and sheer nature. The video didn’t fully capture the wild spirit of the National Seashore, but you can still feel the windswept wonder of it all.
Gateway To Mars…!
While we were in South Texas, you may remember we got the chance to visit Boca Chica Beach, home of the official Gateway to Mars. Well, official in the mind of Elon Musk, anyway. This is where you’ll find Starbase, which is Musk’s bid to create his own spaceport, capable ultimately of sending people to Mars. Starbase is currently the focus of his Starship heavy-launch project, and it was truly amazing that we were able to stand right next to it and take this video of the set-up…
Catch Our RV Journey on YouTube!
The journey itself might be over, and our “A Year On The Road” RV adventure is officially in the books, but you can still catch up with all the excitement and intrigue on our YouTube channel, which now has almost 100 snapshot videos of different aspects of the trip in the bag.
From Pictured Rocks National Seashore in Michigan to Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon, plus dozens of fascinating places and experiences in between, this is our chance to wow you with the visuals of this epic RV journey across 23 states.
Our latest contribution is all about those elusive Javelinas in Texas, but you’ll also find recent videos that highlight the vibrant Historic Market Square in San Antonio, Big Bend National Park and a stunning tequila sunset in New Mexico.
Check it all out on this link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCP5dY0TcznDGkOY8BQUkpQg
A Year On The Road – The Final Maps
Back in Orlando again, it’s time to tot up the final mileage and trace our entire route (in 2 maps) around the US. We reached West Glacier, Montana, at our furthest distance from Orlando at almost 2,700 miles away, albeit we reached there via a distinctly circuitous route that involved fully 12 states!
The “return journey” from there was also far from a straight line, taking in another 10 states before completing what was essentially a giant circle of the Midwest, the North, South West and Southern states. For much of the last 5 months we were close to the Gulf of Mexico before coming back into Florida via Pensacola and the Panhandle area, where we were definitely able to relax a bit (albeit keeping more than one eye on staying out of the way of some seriously stormy weather).
So, with no further ado and a bit of a fanfare – “Ta RA!!!!!” – our final mileage comes to, wait for it…35,186 miles since we left home on May 14, 2023. In our RV, Fati, we traveled a total distance of 9,846 miles, while in our trusty little Ford Fiesta, Nippy, we added a whopping additional 25,840.
Somehow, we’re all still in one piece, albeit Fati has been in for several repairs and 2 full services, while Nippy is heading for a fourth service today and has needed new tires, windshield wipers and two air filters (!). Needless to say, we are immensely proud of our Ford-engined Winnebago RV, as well as our little Fiesta, and they both now deserve a good rest.
Will we have more travels to report anytime soon? The debate is now on at Chez Veness! We DO have a fair bit of work to catch up on first, but there is already talk of an East Coast RV tour, as well as a possible trip out West to the areas we missed this time, namely Washington, Oregon and Northern California, as well as more of Colorado.
So, stay tuned for further travel bulletins, and, if you have liked and enjoyed our blogs, please leave us a comment and be sure to check out our YouTube channel for a series of snapshot videos of the trip on this link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCP5dY0TcznDGkOY8BQUkpQg
Bye for now…!
What We Learned During Our Twelfth Month On The Road
Today marks one full year (plus two days) since we locked the door to our house in Florida for a year-long adventure in an RV. Here’s what we learned during the past month:
Humidity = sweat, and when you’re covered in sweat for three days because you don’t have sewer hookups so you can’t dump a gray tank full of shower water, air conditioning cannot penetrate the sweaty build-up. When you do have full hookups again and you take a shower, that layer of pure, unadulterated evil is wiped away, and you are once again kissed by the cooling breath of your sweet, sweet A/C. This is what bliss is made of.
But you’re in Florida now, so that feeling doesn’t last long.
At 50 weeks into a 52-week trip, Simon JUST discovered his laptop has a built-in editing program. All those videos he’s done that could use editing, but our expensive editing program is back on his computer at home? They could have been glorious viewing comparable to the stuff of Spielberg and Scorsese.
To be fair, he’s only had the laptop for a few months, but still.
We prefer not to be camped near unhappy tiny-humans who wile away their entire three-day vacation screaming things like, “I don’t WANT the sand washed off my feet!” and “I don’t WANT to go inside now!” Usually,we love kids. Adore them, even. We have discovered, however, we always love 55+ campgrounds where the only whines are spelled “wine,” and it’s a pleasure to hear your neighbors suggest you join them for some.
When you hit I-75, an interstate you know so well you could drive it blind, tears will flow. When you remember your final four days of this grand, exciting, confounding, eye-opening adventure will be spent at Walt Disney World’s Fort Wilderness Campground, happiness will be restored.
We’ve learned we could happily live in the mountains if not for the snow. We could happily live in the desert if not for the sand storms. We would be thrilled to live along the Gulf coast if not for the hurricanes. There is so much we love about each state we’ve visited, but always there is “one thing” that doesn’t make them a strong contender for a move away from Florida. Florida has that “one thing” (two really; horrible humidity and…well…politics) that makes us want to move. Everything else – literally everything else – makes us want to stay. And we didn’t know that before this month, and this trip.
It’s true. Home is where the heart is. Over the course of a year, we came to feel that Fati is our home, and everywhere we have visited now holds a special place in our hearts. Connection, appreciation of differences, and a deeper understanding of yourself; these are the priceless gift of travel. We will treasure these lessons forever.
Thank you for making this journey with us!
Welcome Home!
When we hit Interstate 75 heading south, the tears began. Our life-changing adventure was coming to an end, and that southward turn felt like a gut-punch. Then we remembered our next – and final – campground was Fort Wilderness at Walt Disney World, and we would soon be hearing that most Disney of greetings, “Welcome home.”
Walt Disney World has been a big part of our personal and professional lives for decades, first separately and then together. Although we’ve written extensively about the U.S., Europe, and cruising, Orlando has been our stock in trade with our books, through 29 editions of the Brit Guide to Orlando, three editions of The Hidden Magic of Walt Disney World, two editions of Walt Disney World Hacks, Hidden Magic Trivia, Hidden Magic Planner, 111 Places in Orlando You Must Not Miss, and reams of articles for newspapers, magazines, and online companies. It felt fitting that we would end our journey at the place that made our travels possible.
Once upon a time, pets and cars were not allowed inside the campground loops areas. Now, the entire resort (with the exception of buildings and the pool) is dog friendly, and our enormous Premium Meadow site had room for Nippy, with plenty to spare. With trees on three sides – but also an open view of the sky – we had loads of privacy and flawless internet reception through Starlink.
We had the option to go into the theme parks during our stay, but instead, chose to spend all of our time at Fort Wilderness. For 17 years, we had a house right behind Magic Kingdom, just across a small lake, and we would occasionally bicycle to Fort Wilderness for exercise. When we thought we might someday take a cross-country trip in an RV, we cycled over and spent a lot of time looking at the rigs that were camping at the Fort, dreaming of the day we might be able to do the same. Now, that dream had come true.
After a long drive to reach Lake Buena Vista, we spent our first evening chilling out at the rig, grabbing dinner from onsite Trail’s End Restaurant, and watching the Disney movie, Bedknobs and Broomsticks. The next morning we ventured out on foot, exploring the trails, the watercraft rental area, and the Chip ‘N’ Dale Campfire Sing-A-Long pavilion, where we’d return that evening to see the show.
Cast Member Jeremy from New Orleans asked us if we had exciting plans for the day when we passed him on our way to the pavilion. That kicked off a 15-minute chat, including the surprising revelation that he knows Young Son, who has been his bartender in Galaxy’s Edge a few times. We say it all the time and we’ll say it again: Cast Members are the true “Disney magic” in this wonderful theme park playground, and they have that “special something” about them; call it the “Disney Difference.” We ended our conversation feeling like we’ve made a new friend.
With Ruthie tucked up in her wagon, we returned to the pavilion for the 8 p.m. show, which is a cute, family-friendly sing-song with characters Chip and Dale, and the chance to purchase S’mores and hot dogs for roasting over a campfire. Adorable, and just the sort of thing that gets you into the Disney spirit.
We then headed down to the beach for a view of Magic Kingdom’s Happily Ever After fireworks at 9 p.m. The prime view of the fireworks is from the park’s Main Street U.S.A., but over the years we’ve come to appreciate varied perspectives, which all add something different to guests’ viewing, and Fort Wilderness is certainly one of those places.
The next day we took a drive around our old stomping grounds outside of Walt Disney World to see what has changed in the last year (answer: a LOT. It’s Orlando. Things change monthly). We returned to Fati so that Susan could do a podcast interview, then we headed over to the Sing-A-Long pavilion again for Movies Under the Stars. The evening’s movie was Disney’s animated Tarzan, which neither of us had seen in years.
It made for a nostalgic end to the day, and helped us think about something other than the next morning’s visit to Ruthie’s vet. We knew we had some hard questions to ask, and we weren’t entirely sure we’d like the answers. In the end, the answer was, No, it’s not time to “make that call” yet. We were given a clear idea of what we’d see when the time does come to say good-bye, but that we won’t know when that will be until Ruthie shows us she can’t keep going. “She won’t want get up. She won’t want to eat. And her breathing will suddenly be twice this bad.”
She did come home with medication to help ease her advanced osteoarthritis, so that should make her more comfortable, but walks are out for her for the duration, and beyond that it’s “wait and see.” Could be a week, could be a year.
The Electrical Water Pageant is one of those magical little “extras” long-time Disney fans seek out, and we were eager to see it that evening, for one last time. The weather had other ideas. Although the rain kept us inside the rig, we were content with our forested view as our thoughts were on returning to our “sticks and bricks” house the next day.
It’s surprising how conflicted we are about being ready for a rest, being excited to be home again, wondering how we’ll cope with staying in one place every day, and feeling truly, truly sad this Year on the Road has come to an end. We can’t bear the thought that we won’t travel like this again, so we will. What that will look like remains an exciting mystery.
Thank you for coming along with us on this incredible journey, and here’s to the next one!
Enter The Jungle
When is a campground only 29 miles away from your previous location but a million miles away from harsh reality? When it’s The Hideaway Retreat in Navarre, Florida, an oasis of magnolia trees, white sand beach, and the blue, blue, blue of the ocean.
Okay, so maybe it’s on the Santa Rosa Sound, not the ocean, but the effect is the same. A self-proclaimed “shabby chic” retreat that offers rare shade in the Sunshine State, the Hideaway scared us at first for its close-together trees, then proved to be far more straightforward than we imagined, and a gem of a place we’ll return to if we ever get the chance.
When you live in an RV, every noise matters. We know all of our noises, from the occasional hum of the fridge as it tries to freeze everything solid to the gentle click of the light switches and the metal “pop” as the slides or the jacks settle in during cold weather. But the muffled thumping we kept hearing eluded us. What the hell was it?
It drove us to distraction until we asked one of the staff and they told us it was testing that takes place at the Hurlburt Air Force Base Special Operations Command’s training grounds, just across the Sound. They’re blowing things up, but don’t worry; after a while you won’t hear it anymore. Which was (partly) true. It was simply one of those background noises that makes RVers (okay, us) wonder if something on their rig is eager to meet a mobile mechanic and will cost many, many hard-earned dollars.
That problem solved, Simon had never seen the movie The Truman Show, but was aware Seaside, Florida, not far away, was the setting for the fictional town of Seahaven, so we had a drive along the coast the next day with that town as our goal. When we arrived, we couldn’t escape the feeling that it was very much like the formerly-Disney-owned town of Celebration, which some say looks like a Normal Rockwell painting and others say is more along the lines of The Stepford Wives.
Unfair movie comparisons aside, Seaside clearly has money. It also has a lot of community amenities, including an intriguing area featuring permanent kiosks and food trucks that would have been perfect for lunch.
But we’d already eaten, having stopped at Beach Camp Brewpub, not realizing Seaside was so close. Still, Simon had a huge bowl of gumbo and a beer, Susan went for a cup of Brunswick Stew and iced tea, and we split sides of cheese grits and collard greens, all of which were delicious. Simon being Simon, Sticky Toffee Bread Pudding rounded off a fine meal.
The next day we had hiking and a boat tour on our radar, for a bit of exercise and the chance to get out on the water. Arcadia Mill has a three-quarter-mile-long, dog-friendly boardwalk through what was once antebellum Florida’s first water-powered industrial complex. Very little remains of that logging endeavor, other than a few ruins of retaining walls, but it’s a gorgeous walk through the forest, with peaceful streams running languidly across our path. True balm for the soul.
We started the adventure with a little picnic of sandwiches, carrots, and fruit, then did the full loop, with Ruthie making the trek in her wagon.
After consulting her vet about the more advanced laryngeal paralysis our pup is experiencing, walks are now out of the question for her, but she seems to appreciate getting around comfortably when the path isn’t too bumpy.
The boat tour? Well, that didn’t really work out. Simon wanted to “drop by” and find out more about it, but when we arrived it was someone’s house. No one came out when we pulled into the driveway. It all got very awkward, with shades of our horrible coffee debacle in Leiter, Wyoming, so we backed out and agreed we’d better call first.
While we couldn’t go boating (renting is cost-prohibitive here), we did take time to head down to the Destin marina for a view of the famous Crab Island. It was once a real “island” in the North Channel, but much of it washed away, and now it’s a massive sand bar with four-foot-deep water, making it an ideal spot for boaters who want to chill out or party.
We could see it well from the marina, but had an even better view as we crossed over the William T. Marler Bridge (Highway 98). It was jam-packed on that sunny Friday afternoon, with weather in the high 80s, and we imagine it’s shoulder-to-shoulder and boat-to-boat in high summer.
Those with a keen eye will have noticed the floating tiki huts. During busy times, mobile food and drink boats (not you, alcohol) putter out to the island and offer their wares. This little shaved ice and ice cream boat was just coming back to the mainland for refills.
But possibly the best thing we did in Navarre was hang out near the beach at our campground, eating ice cream, having a drink, and watching through our binoculars as boats went by. Only a few times during this trip have we just kicked back and acted like real campers. We could get used to it.
A Year On The Road in The Independent, Pt 7
Regular blog readers will know our grand year-long RV adventure is being serialized in the UK’s Independent newspaper, and the latest instalment is now online.
It covers the northern part of our Arizona travels, and you can find it on this link:
We Are Absolutely Not Going Anywhere
Simon: Let’s go to Milton as our first week in Florida. There’s nothing nearby to tempt us away from the campground, and we can push through the work we need to get done so we can enjoy our final stops.
Susan: Perfect. If I can count on that, I’ll fill up the fridge and plan for all our meals at home.
Simon: You can count on it.
Also Simon (first full day at campground): Let’s do a loop around East Bay and down to the coast today and visit Pensacola tomorrow! YAY! GO, GO, GO!!!
The man just can’t. But our thoughts are starting to focus on our return home and the major decisions we’ll be facing once we’re back, so we agreed to two days exploring, and the rest of the time in the rig getting a jump on preparations for summer’s onslaught.
If you have other things to do, here’s the short version: We pretty much did nothing, other than two short excursions. For the longer version, read on.
When we checked in at Avalon Landing RV Park, we were offered an upgrade to a water site for $30 ($4.28 a night), and while we weren’t quite sure we wanted the extra fee, we agreed, and it was a decision that really paid off. Birds swooping and diving, mullet jumping, people fishing from the bridge; absolute viewing perfection from inside the rig while we worked, and from outside with our pre-dinner drinks.
We spent the first day “at home” getting laundry, shopping, and a little bit of work done, then set out for a loop around the bay the next day. When we reached the Gulf, we both had a little catch in our breath, seeing the wonderfully familiar blue of the water. Florida, in our opinion, has the most beautiful ocean water in the country (well, around the country, really), with its deep blues and bright blues that are even more radiant against the Panhandle’s superb white-sand beaches.
The next day we drove south, then turned west along the single road through Gulf Islands National Seashore, which we had first encountered ‘way back in Mississippi. Little dune-ettes – tiny by Lake Michigan standards – stretched the full length, with the occasional peek at the sea on one side, and the East Bay on the other. A gentle day, yes, but we felt the full impact of being so close to the end of our adventure.
Next up was Pensacola, with its pretty downtown balconies reminiscent of New Orleans, and an up-close (-ish) view of Captain America, an off-shore support vessel that helps install and decommission things like drilling rigs and wind farms. The ship was just paying a visit, and its home port is Pascagoula, Mississippi.
A historical marker at Palafox Pier, where the ship is anchored, recalls a darker time. Pensacola’s history of importing enslaved Africans is long, dating back to the mid-1500s. First the Spanish, then the English, shipped human “cargo” to the area, presumably landing at or near what is now the pier. It also recalls the people who escaped enslavement and hid out in Pensacola’s relative remoteness. Their ancestors, the sign indicates, helped shape the character of the city.
Why is this marker important? Because it (and others like it, specifically in St. Augustine, Florida) counters the history we were taught in school, that slavery began in Virginia in the mid-1600s. St. Augustine saw its first slaves in the early 1500s. These markers are so easy to overlook, but we’ve been surprised at how much they’ve inspired us to learn more about things we didn’t know, or thought we knew.
The rest of our time was spent working, putting “decisions” in motion, and enjoying our gorgeous view. We’ll have one more beach destination, two more short moves, and then a very special finale to what has been a mind-expanding trip.
Uno Cinecalidad Travel Media