Month: March 2024

BBQ, Blues, and Batman (Goodbye Lola)

~ Wandering Cindi ~ Leave a comment

Aaron, Murphy, Lola, and I had only a few more days left at Palmetto Island State Park. Aaron, Murphy, and I were planning to head east, while Lola was going to head west with our son, Gage. We were wandering back towards our home base in Florida while Lola and Gage were heading towards Phoenix, Arizona, to start a new adventure together. Before we left to meet with Gage to hand Lola over, I thought I would check the truck’s grill for another bird’s nest. Sure enough, they had built a second nest! Fortunately, they had not laid eggs, so I could remove the nest without harming wildlife.

Lola has always belonged to our oldest son, Gage, and she loves him above all others. Gage’s career has allowed him to move to Phoenix and take Lola with him. On his way out to Phoenix, we met up off Interstate 10. Lola was really surprised and happy to see Gage! We said our goodbyes, and Gage and Lola headed west to their new home and adventure.

We hit the road the day after we said goodbye and love you to Gage and Lola. Since we planned on traveling for three days, we decided to use Harvest Host stops each night. Our first stop was a BBQ restaurant in Mississippi, The Shed. We had fantastic food, listened to a great blues band, and enjoyed the views from our parking spot.

During our trip back home, we stopped at an antique automobile museum in Tallahassee, Florida. This was an incredibly enjoyable stop! The museum had an impressive collection of vehicles, including cars from various Batman movies and the TV show, as well as motorcycles, a Steinway piano collection, a victrola, and even some Star Wars memorabilia. What made this museum even better was that it was dog-friendly, allowing Aaron, Murphy, and me to have a great time exploring the cars, motorcycles, and other collections.

The Car Collection (some of it)

The Motorcycles

The Steinways and a jukebox and Victrola

A touch of Star Wars

We had a blast! We settled in for the night, knowing we would return to the house the next day and see our other two kids, Mason and Jenna, and Jenna’s fiancé, Quentin. We had a few neighbors at this Harvest Host, but everyone was spaced out nicely, and it was a quiet, restful night.

We will be packing, undecorating, and uninstalling solar panels, the Starlink, and other miscellaneous things for the next few weeks to get Yurtle ready to find a new home. Our new home, Murphy’s Law, should be done with production and headed to us very soon! We will be ready.

Palmetto Island State Park

~ Wandering Cindi ~ Leave a comment

Palmetto Island State Park has my favorite entrance to a park/campground (so far). It says you are indeed entering a swamp, there is wildlife here, be cautious. They even provide literature about wildlife safety.

Even after living in Louisiana for 20+ years, I never thought about bear safety in Louisiana. We were warned about active black bears in the campground.

The only wildlife we encountered up close and personal was a pair of birds trying to make a nest in the grill of our truck and a cardinal stopping briefly at our site. I felt bad about taking their nesting materials out of the truck, but I wanted them to be able to have a nest that wouldn’t drive away.

The state park earned its name. Palmettos are everywhere and it is a beautiful setting to camp and relax. The dogs have enjoyed romping through the swampy land, chasing squirrels, and looking for possums and armadillos. Even at the end of winter, a lot of the foliage is quite green. I can only imagine how beautiful and lush it will be come spring and summer.

We also had quite a few rainy days, which meant cuddle time with the pups and lots of nap time for them as well.

Staying at this campground is a little bittersweet. This will most likely be the last campground we stay in with our current Airstream, Yurtle. We will probably have a few Harvest Host stays on our way back to Florida, and a few more nights spent in the camper once we get back to our homebase to await the delivery of our new house on wheels. Yurtle has been a great starter home on wheels, has helped us create many wonderful memories and experiences, and has taught us so much about the wandering life.