RV Newbies

You will all be happy to know we survived! Edson drove a big arss RV from Michigan to Florida. It took us 8 days but we did it. The plane ride was Cayenne's first. She was hilarious. Spoke to strangers, took out every toy in her backpack and put it on her tray table and was such a big girl, She sat in her own seat with Daddy a majority of the time and only wanted mama near the end when she got tired. One of the funny moments: a lady had her dog on the plane that had fake pink fingernails. SHWAT? I snuck a pic (see below).

Look in the background. PINK FINGERNAILS

Our RV Newbie Route

Grand Rapids, MI: It was a bit po-dunk. It felt like we were in the middle of nowhere. Maybe we missed the "city" part but we were definitely off the beaten path. I saw a broken down semi trailer in a field that someone was using as a billboard. It read "Body Parts For Sale". NUFF SAID. I mean I know they meant Auto Body Parts but still. Disturbing. I wish I would've snapped a pic but holding onto my toddler in a taxi without a carseat took priority. All that being said, the RV park was very nice.

Martinsville, Indiana: Cedar Creek Winery & Brew Co. It was our first Harvest Host location. I LOVED this place. The host, Bryce was so nice and helpful. Our generator wasn't working so he offered us electricity and anything else. The land was beautiful, the wine was good and E said the beer was good, too. They are in the process of building a distillery so ideally we'd like to go back and bring some friends. Walking around being outside and spending time with each other affirmed why we are doing all this.

Townsend, Tennessee: We had planned on going to a goat farm in Tazewell, TN (another Harvest Host spot) and working on the farm for a couple days to save some money. That didn't work out seeing as though our brand new RV generator was NOT working. It was in the 80s and 90s and not having ac would not be kosher for this sweaty family of 5. We ended up going back to Townsend, TN and staying at a campground with full hook-up there. We spent a lot of time with Papaw and Granny especially while Edson had to work (and deal with the generator). Two times in one year was a new record!

When we pulled up in our spot at the campground we weren't impressed. Below is our view from the front window. I didn't think we'd have neighbors with a washer/dryer unit taken apart in the 'front yard,' Then we went to the river and that took all my redneck worries away.

The beautiful Little River- view never gets old

Cayenne filled her shoes with river rocks and then said "Look Mommy! My shoes ROCK!"

BB Gun Competition at Papaw and Granny's

Veggies picked fresh from Granny's Garden

The Smoky Mountains Overlook

Sparks, Georgia: We stayed at another Harvest Host spot: Horse Creek Winery. Our first Harvest Host experience was so incredible this one was kind of a let down. They had us park next to a dumpster behind the building where the employees smoke. We ate at the Bistro and they got our food all wrong and it wasn't good when we finally got it. We decided that we didn't even want to try the wine. We were super excited when we saw their website but not so excited once we got there. They have two locations so maybe the other location is better. Not so sure. It didn't help that it was right off I95 and being in the south meant gun-toting employees. That was a fun conversation at dinner with our boys as they were floored by the whole idea of someone openly carrying a gun in a restaurant.

Now we are back in Florida and I don't think we've sat down since we got back. It's been go-go-go. We have to get everything together for this RV so we can head out for the next year or more. It. Is. A LOT! Edson has all the technical stuff (i.e. wifi booster, getting the braking system and tow stuff set up on our Flex, finalizing details with selling his car, etc. etc.) and I have the task of making appointments, organizing and decorating. We are talking a lot of appointments: dentist, doctor, allergist, veterinarian, orthodontist and more. Did I say this is a lot? As for the organizing and decorating that's the fun part but I'm spiraling out of control. I tend to get carried away in trying to make everything perfect.

Deep breaths in and out. At this point we are a bit zombie-like and I'm ready to crash at the end of each day.  

We started homeschool yesterday. The website hasn't updated to the Day 2 assignments yet so I'm having to improvise today. We are leaving Saturday September 10th and we just found out the place we were supposed to stay in Tallahassee doesn't have power and that our New Orleans reservation has been cancelled due to flooding. Did someone say PLAN B?! We did have our first leg planned out but it's back to the drawing board. I'm definitely going to get a lesson in being more flexible on this adventure.

I'll be sharing much more very soon. Our learning curve, a trip to Tellico Plains, TN, the route and a few little things in between. These posts are bound to get smaller as I post more and that is definitely the plan. Stay with me!