Whale Tail Adventures

I started the morning in the peaceful country air.  For some reason, I woke up at the crack of dawn, but it gave me a chance to get outside and hear the country wake up.  While there was the sound of a few cars going down the road, the dominating sounds were frogs, cows, and the neighbor's rooster.  I also decided to try the fishing and - first cast, got a small crappie. After a bit, I saw Uncle John on the other side of the pond so I walked over to join him.  We inspected the far side of the pond and then came back and launched the boat.  It was a pretty successful fishing outing with a big crappie and a good sized bass.  Not a bad way to start the day Once we were done fishing, we came back in to an AMAZING egg and sausage casserole breakfast.  It was absolutely delicious - thank you again Aunt Cathy! After breakfast we did a bit of a town tour.  We stopped by the family property to water the vegetable garden (it was DRY!), explored the bottom a...

So today is the first day I'm not going to work.  It felt pretty good, can you tell?   After a quick sunrise tour of the lake, I walked back to start the pancakes and eggs in the camper.  The boys had talked the process up so we wanted to ensure that the grandparents got a chance to experience this.   Since the day didn't seem to have too long a drive - especially compared with yesterday, I took off to hike in the woods.  There was supposed to be a waterfall, but since there hasn't been any rain in the area lately, there also wasn't a waterfall.  But it still looked pretty nice even if the waterfall wasn't there. The drive to Effingham began much as the prior day ended - lots of twisty, turny, up and down country roads.  Good times, only not.  Finally we found our way to some highways.  We took a short break because our youngest was receiving an award at school.  Totally worth the stop - especially since it was at the Audubon park....

After a few more middle of the night rain showers, we woke up to sunny skies.  With the rays of sunshine sneaking through the canopy and the sounds of birds, especially woodpeckers, it sure felt like a great way to wake up. Since we were near the Blue Ridge Mountains, we thought we would take advantage of seeing the sights.  So we had a quick breakfast of oatmeal before heading out to see the sights of the mountains.  We drove over to the park headquarters, saw some raptors, and then headed up the hills.  It didn't take us long before we were gifted with some magnificent mountain views. We then proceeded to the Rhododendron gardens.  While they were still a week or two away from full bloom, it was still a great place to hike.  We were at 6,000+ feet so hiking was a bit of a challenge.  At the end of the trail was the overlook, but with the Cloudland trail living up to its name, the view wasn't so spectacular. It was getting close to checkout and so we ...

The adventure has officially begun, though a bit later than anticipated.   Perhaps I shouldn't have waited until the day of departure to start packing, but let's call that a lesson learned for the next adventure.  In this one, that lack of preparation delayed the start by a couple of hours so we got going a bit later than anticipated.  After a third attempt to get the grill that attaches to the side of the camper going, it still wouldn't give off enough heat so we are officially going without. The drive to Roan Mountain went largely without issue.  It included the usual traffic on interstate 40/85, but that was expected from the get go.  The most exciting parts were when the road would go uphill near Boone.  There were some long runs at high gradients and the van was put to work.  But it managed and we got there in the end. The challenge for the day started when we found our campsite.  While the website described that the sites were on a slop...

An idea years in the making has finally taken shape.  The summer of 2023 will officially be spent driving the Whale (a 2011 Honda Odyssey) and its Tail (a 2009 Fleetwood Mesa) on a ~10,000 mile epic journey.  The plan includes 19 states, 2 Canadian provinces, and countless national/state parks and monuments spread out over 10 weeks.   There will be memories to last a lifetime - some of laughter and smiles, some of tears.  The plan is attached - let's see if we hold to it.  Stay tuned!   Date      Starting Location           Ending Location 3-Jun          Raleigh                                  Roan Mountain, TN 4-Jun          Roan Mountain                   Nolin Lake, KY 5-Jun     ...