Van now in USA (2 Viewers)

[mojo]

Plan a three hour drive to Sam's Club i27/i75 for the night stop.Then a three hour drive along the coast road Fort Lauderdale to West Palm Beach.Inland to campsite on Lake Okeechobee.Visited Miami some years ago,most beach seemed private to the hotels.

 

[mojo]

Moose burgers for dinner tonight.Our lovely neighbour's Joe & Sandy on site here in Florida are keen hunters .They eat what they catch and Sandy is cooking moose tonight.She says it tastes like sweet beef ?

 

[mojo]

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[mojo]

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[mojo]

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[mojo]

The world is a varied place ,that is why we travel.Thought it was a different experience to show.Like people eating dogs in Vietnam or the Camels in Australia,or the alligators in Florida.
It is the world we live in ,not what we do in our country but it exists.Its like denying unpleasant history.
BUT I apologize if these facts are not acceptable .

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[mojo]

So glad I didn't post the pics of me on the beach with a mankini.That would have been truly controversial

 

[SpeedyDux]

@mojo many thanks for such an interesting and entertaining blog of your USA trip. I only started reading it over Christmas otherwise I would have given you a hundred plus likes and nice ones in a matter of hours. Consider it massively liked by me anyway.

 

[mojo]

Post taken down as inappropriate on some forums.

When I put in to the public domain a travel experience that is unusual compared to our own society it is to share my travel "event". Travel brings us in to contact with different cultures for us to observe ,I do not agree with or condemn their practices .I am told to be ashamed for telling others of meeting these people and eating Moose.
How blinkered can people be to the realities of life.
A picture of the many Florida menues offering alligator or, in Canada ,moose presumably may be a acceptable rather than a picture of how it gets to the plate.
The many other experiences we have from China, Vietnam,Japan, etc must stay locked in our personal travel diaries and post only sunsets, mountains and lakes preferably with a van in the foreground.
I accept the moderator of some forums may feel the need to block the truth to "avoid a war".
However I can't help feeling it's the equivalent ,in years passed, where the moderator would be obliged to burn the library books because some people dislike the truth inside.
What a relief we live in such enlightened times.

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[Bustup15]

@mojo like others I have read the entire post over Christmas. Congrats on a great read and no doubt inspiring others to follow when time and finances permit.

 

[audlin]

I've enjoyed your trip vicariously. Thank you.

 

[Mikey RV]

This thread is fantastic. Have loved it all the way. Something I would love to do. Keep posting.

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[tacr2man]

Your travelogue is so much more valuable in its grounded view than the usual media "travel " blurb , have found most enjoyable .

 

[Puddleduck]

If we wanted pictures of landscapes we can get those thanks to Mr Google.

I have enjoyed your honest comments and photos. I have also eaten some things that would be unusual to the UK when travelling - moose being just one of them. In days gone past our ancestors had to hunt to eat and if people eat what they hunt today and cause no catastrophic decreases in population then that is their choice and it is not for us to judge their culture. They may think we are cruel for raising animals in captivity just so we can kill and eat them.

 

[mojo]

Out of the keys 29 December

We are now settled at North Lakes campsite after a two day journey .Nothing on particular to say other than the only road in to the keys southbound as we went north was packed with traffic from Marathon to Key Largo.Thats a lot of miles in crawling traffic and 28 Deg.After 3 hrs we overnight in a Home Depot west of Fort Lauderdale.
I wanted to travel along the A1A ,the coast road,north from Fort Lauderdale to West Palm Beach before heading inland westward to Lake Okeechobee.
Not surprised by the endless hotels and condos hiding the beach and no signs of coffee shops,bars, restaurants which presumably are on beach side in hotels.No chance of parking for a stroll.
Pulled away to the i95 to burn up 30 miles before returning to the beach road to view West Palm Beach.What a difference,all very smart and the millionaire's mansions looked great Ferrari,Rolls Royce,Bentley are the cars of choice around here.Bet I stood out with a right hand drive Hymer.
Personally I prefer the idea of a friendly bunch of campers on a site to socialise with than cooped up in a condo or mansion

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[Sheddy]

As you head north through Savannah and the Carolina's have you thought about the 'Outer Banks', an interesting couple of ferries plus you will pass through Kitty Hawk with the Wright brothers museum.
Cheers
Ed

 

[mojo]

As you head north through Savannah and the Carolina's have you thought about the 'Outer Banks', an interesting couple of ferries plus you will pass through Kitty Hawk with the Wright brothers museum.
Cheers
Ed

Thanks
I will check that out ,go via the 264

 

[mojo]

After motorhome, over 55s resort ?
30 December

We have visited two over 55s campsites here in Florida and think they are a great idea.
A lot of pitches taken up with permanent caravans that have been extended to look more like a building but enough left for tourers.
Many live here all year or less as suits them.They pay for twelve months regardless.Any one under 55 can visit for up to a month per year so at this time of year there are many families .
There are of course over 55s sites in the UK called Park Home Sites and we have checked them out.They differ in that our units cost vastly more and have virtually no recreation facilities despite the selling point of buying in to a "lifestyle of like minded owners"
Here you pay approx £50,000 second hand and about £5,000 per year rent covering utilities
But you get a lot of activities available and social opportunities.
In UK you are lucky to get a social hall.
If you want recreation facilities in UK then there are plenty of holiday parks with statics similar to this USA set up except one crucial difference.
All ages use them giving it a transitory feeling compared to a settled community .Everyone gets about on golf carts,if there's a group you know it's a party .Many still have touring units when they want to explore. If we were not full time travelling and wanted a settled lifestyle the American idea appeals.
Off to use their heated pool after just purchasing our New Year's Eve tickets for their social hall to include food and live music.
Nothing "clicky" here with the residents,all welcome .

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[mojo]

Happy new year to everyone .We celebrate twice.Here at 7 pm for midnight London then 5 hrs later for America.

 

[mojo]

North Lakes RV campsite, Okeechobee, Florida

Unusual end to our evening.Food and dancing to a live band playing rock and country went fine.
At midnight we opened a cheap bottle of champagne given to each table of six.We toasted in the new year.Immediately after the toast everyone started to leave.We had gone on the dance floor for a last dance.Coming back we found the table empty with our chums for the night clutching our phones,etc.
With plates and glasses provided in plastic the organizers had scooped up the tablecloth with our real glasses containing drink along with the champagne in to bins!
They had to rummage in to them to retrieve our glasses with apologies.
What a strange way to end the night,hall cleared by 12:05 !!

 

[mojo]

Just sorting out the garage to pack away all our gear before we head out of warm Florida to our shipping company in cold Baltimore for mid January.

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[Puddleduck]

Just sorting out the garage to pack away all our gear before we head out of warm Florida to our shipping company in cold Baltimore for mid January.

I can't like that

But you do have at least another week or two before Baltimore to enjoy Most people only get a week or two away every year.

 

[mojo]

I can't like that

But you do have at least another week or two before Baltimore to enjoy Most people only get a week or two away every year.

True,we are in a position to spend long periods away.Just hope the weather is kind to us with the snow .

 

[mojo]

Decided to visit Walt Disney in Orlando enroute north from Okeechobee Lake for nostalgic reasons.We came here with the boys about 25 years ago !
Just visiting one of the venues called Disney Springs for the afternoon before we pass through Kissemmee where we had our villa.

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[mojo]

Got a good overnight spot here at Cracker Barrel only half mile from the Old Town tourist attraction.
Many years ago I did the Sky Coaster with my young Michael and it brings back memories of that scary moment when you realise you don't have a very good head for height's.Never again

!

 

[mojo]

Jacksonville, Florida 4 December
Early rise to drive to St Augustine.As recommended it is indeed a nice place to visit.The oldest settlement in USA ,oldest street,oldest school house, etc by the Spanish.
Many original buildings but now given over to shops, restaurant,bars making it feel touristy on the main street.The surrounding streets are interesting with the many Victorian properties.
The fort,built 1695, was closed due to the government shut down.
Moved north to Jacksonville to overnight in a Golden Corral buffet restaurant.We are wise to this place now and did not eat anything all day to do the huge selection justice on our evening meal.

 

[mojo]

Savannah, Georgia 6 January
Free parking on Sunday ! Saved us twenty dollars.

As expected Savannah is a lovely place.Set out in 1733 by the English it has a grid layout with many garden squares surrounded by every architectural style of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
With canopies of ancient oaks covered in Spanish Moss providing shaded respite from the heat and the cobbled waterfront we had an enjoyable walk under blue skies .The free ferry gives perspective from the river of the large cotton warehousing once full from the efforts of the poor slaves .Even the Cathedral of St John the Baptist was a treat for the eyes.
Everything you could want to have a nice lifestyle is here with good value properties.

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[mojo]

Charleston & Georgetown,SC ,7 January

Great difficulty to find parking for a motorhome in Charleston despite arriving at 8am.Almost ready to give up when we came across 2hr FREE parking on the waterside Battery Park.
This gave us some time to explore the old town mansions but not enough to go inside the old slave market (Mart) housing the museum of slavery in South Carolina.
Crossing the road bridge to Sullivan's Island we could see the old aircraft carrier Yorktown.Fort Moultrie on the island was closed due to government shutdown.The view to Fort Sumter National Monument was from a calm beach with some dolphins passing close to shore.Fort Sumter was fired upon by the Confederate Navy which began the Civil War.
On to the second town named after a King , Georgetown.Very pleasant with a time warp 50s High Street and clapperboard large houses on tree lined roads providing the all important shade.
Must put the miles in each day now to get to Washington DC by Thursday evening so on again to Myrtle Beach Sam's Club for their complementary overnight parking.

 

[mojo]

Yorktown , Virginia 9 January
The drive today has taken us passed the 17,000 miles after leaving North Carolina in to Virginia.
Passing Windsor,Suffolk, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Gloucester and other English names along with an unusual road kill sight.A fully grown black bear lying face down in the central reservation!
Despite the government shut down affecting NPs
we got a good feel for Yorktown in the few remaining daylight hours after our arrival.
Famous for the British surrender of General Cornwallis to General Washington bringing to an end the fight for independence.Here America was born.
Plenty of info boards and the Victory Column to view along with colonial style buildings.

 

[mojo]

Jamestown ,Virginia 10 January

Cold morning,below freezing last night.Arrived at Jamestown ,Englands first succesfull settlement in 1607.Although partly run by the goverment closed NPS there were volunteers using a tent as booking office so it could remain open.

Extremely cold in the biting wind meant taking pictures of the info boards to read later but did get good info from a volunteer on the small site .Much warmer in the building they call Archaerium ,the museum of artifacts from the ongoing digs.Again another volunteer gave us a one hour lesson on all things archeological about the digs.

The afternoon spent driving north to Washington.We did want to visit Colonial Williamsburg but now have to speed up our arrival in Baltimore .Snow forecast for Saturday & Sunday so only Friday (tomorrow) available for Washington when we had planned two days.

Weather turning just as we have only a four hour window to make our dock delivery Monday morning.

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