MA to AZ and beyond

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I'll just give you guys the whole weekend in one here. When we woke up Friday, it was already raining, and just barely starting to turn into snow. We took Loki out for a walk which didn't last terribly long because of the rain. None of us wanted to be out there and Loki least of all. He wore his raincoat, though, which helps with his attitude towards precipitation. And is wicked adorable. We have to make sure to dry off his belly when we get back inside though, because his feet kick up water and he gets wet anyways.



Once we piled back inside and dried off, we hit the road. We headed east across 70 which would probably be a really pretty drive. It follows a river through a pretty steep canyon for a while. Unfortunately, by the time we got there, it was pretty heavily snowing so visibility was really poor. We could only see the next hundred feet or so ahead of us. Plus, I was obviously trying to keep the van upright and between the lines. Sightseeing was only second priority. But eventually, we made it to Denver. We parked outside my cousin's house, right near City Park. While he and his fiancée finished their work week, we did some chores inside. We walked Loki around the park in the snow. He loves snow about as much as he hates rain. Which is weird but...dogs, am I right?





Eventually, we were all four of us finished what we had to get done, so we went inside their place and hung out for the night inside an actual house which felt huge even though it's small by most standards. We decided to do a little pot-luck situation. Mandy and I (really just Mandy) made beef short rib nachos, and Brian and Emma made enchiladas. Everything was wicked tasty. Obviously. If you didn't expect that, you must be new here. For the rest of the night, we mostly visited with them over a round of drinks in their living room and just relaxed, playing cards, in from the cold and wet.

Saturday, we took another walk around the park when we got up. We took the opportunity to do some free laundry. Then, we all went over to Golden to walk the dogs. My cousin's got a giant Bernese Mountain dog, Zion. We walked along the riverside path there, and then we visited New Terrain brewery across town. We found a spot on the outdoor patio and had a round of beers outside. It was just on the cusp of being warm out. If the wind was still and the sun was exposed, it was comfortable. But it was great either way.



When we got back to my cousin's place, Emma left to go to a concert, and we made hand-cut fries and a couple pizzas in the van. BBQ chicken is such our go-to flavor of pizza. Almost every time, it seems like. But it's just so good! The fries were wicked good, too. They were just air-fried not deep-fried, though. Sorry to any fry purists, but deep frying in the van would make such a permanent mess we just don't do it. But anyways. After dinner and hanging out a while, we called it a fairly early night. As we were getting ready for bed, Mandy remembered we had to prep a pork for roasting and some flour for baking bread.

Sunday, there's a farmer's market. There's also one Saturday, but the timing didn't work out and we missed it. The parking situation is crazy at the Sunday one, though. We parked about 3 blocks away and walked over. We of course brought Loki since we didn't want to leave him alone inside the van. But the streets were packed with people, so we were on high alert the whole time, waiting for Loki to get mad at a dog because there was food around or whatever. He was perfectly behaved the whole time, though. We got some veggies and mushrooms for dinner, coffee and a new bar of soap.

We walked over to Sprouts just down the street to finish off our grocery-getting. Mandy went in and Loki barked at me most of the time. We walked around the building to quiet him down for a bit. He just seems to get antsy when we're not all together. Afterwards, we went to a piercing place so I could get some new ear plugs. I told them I needed 4ga, bought them and walked out. Looked at them again and realized I'm an idiot. I need 8ga hardware. So, I exchanged what I'd literally JUST bought for the right size stuff. When we got back to the van, I tried to install them and absolutely cannot. It's the same nominal size, but a different shape, and I can't get past the flared ends.



Around noon, Mandy prepared a loaf of focaccia, and we started the pork roasting. Then we all headed over to City Park. Again. It's a pretty nice park, you guys. And Loki is much more friendly to other dogs when they're outside rather than inside. I dunno why. But the four of us threw frisbees at each other while the dogs laid in the grass and sun. It wasn't hot per se, but it was a far cry from the miserable cold and snow two days prior. All the snow was melted, the ground was dry. We played until we didn't want to anymore. Then we went back to check on the pork and bread. Everything was going well.

We prepped veggies. Brussels and asparagus. Mushrooms too, for risotto. It was a huge meal. And everything came out wonderful. We ate inside the house and had some red wine with dinner. After dinner, we played Wits & Wagers and watched The Office reruns. It was a really nice time. We ended the night somewhat early so the working half of us could get some sleep before the weekend was over.

 

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Monday, we got up and took Loki for a walk. We had a pretty leisurely morning. Here's the thing - we didn't really have a hard destination to get to, but it was definitely going to be in Kansas. So, we weren't in a huge rush. No offense to any Kansans here. But also, Emma was tied up until 2-ish, and we wanted to say a proper goodbye before we set out. So, it was a little bit of both reasons, not that we hate Kansas and so didn't want to go.

Anyway! We spent most of the time looking at maps and weather. It seemed like no matter where we aimed for (within reason), we'd be in some rain. Because of that, our approach was to do something interesting in the afternoon and park later than typical, since we figured we wouldn't want to be spending time outside at night when it was rainy and cold. On Brian and Emma's suggestion, we went to Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs. It's a pretty neat spot. Just a bunch of red rocks. It kind of reminded us of Sedona in some ways, but the rock formations were kind of unique. It's difficult to describe them, you just gotta go there. We weren't there super long before it started raining. So, while we did get out to walk around the landscape, we ended up finishing it off with a drive-by.



Then, we drove east, making it all the way to Limon, CO. We stopped for the night at a Flying J. It's not always glamorous out here. There weren't many options that were convenient to the highway. Plus, it was cold and rainy, so it felt wasteful to spend money to stay at a campground, since we were just going to be inside for the night, anyways. The sign across the parking lot only lit up for La QUI. The T A was broken. Someone's generator was running.



Tuesday, we woke up in the beautiful gas station parking lot, serenaded by mechanical humming of the still-running generator. Heavenly. We ate some breakfast and took dog out, then hit the road straight away. We had a new state to check off today! So, I know it's kind of fun to point out how boring Kansas is, but I have actually felt determined to find at least one interesting thing in the state for a while. There's gotta be, right? Otherwise, what is it even doing?



I drove on and on, eastward on I-70. I thought when I set out that we were much closer to the border than we actually were. It took a while to actually reach the state line. I learned that eastern Colorado is actually pretty boring. We'd never been further east than the airport in Denver, so that was kind of a new region of the map shaded in for us. Unfortunately, the weather was not forecast to cooperate for the next couple days. As we approached the border, it was drizzling on and off. We did hop out at the border, though, to take some pictures.



There, we learned that the welcome center had free coffee. So that's pretty exciting. 1 point for Kansas. We realized this would be THE place to learn about anything interesting to see or do in Kansas. So, we went. And we got our free coffee. You guys, I have never seen so many pamphlets in one place at one time. Racks on racks of pamphlets. There were also cardboard cutouts of the main Wizard of Oz characters, so Mandy of course posed with them. The staff were so nice and informative, as silly as it sounds (and it was kind of silly), this was actually a cool stop. We were given a full-on magazine of Kansas attractions.



We continued on our way, eventually making it to WaKeeney, KS. We saw diesel for relatively cheap, so we topped off. I wanted to be done with driving because it was starting to hurt. It was raining pretty good at this point, so we just hung out inside a while, out of the way in the gas station parking lot. Mandy was watching a movie. I heated some leftovers for lunch. There was a woman struggling to unlock her car next to us while I was cooking. After I ate, I went inside the convenience store to see if there was anything we might want. I found a 10ft. phone charging cord, so I snagged that for charging on the rear side of the bed. The woman next door was inside trying to open up her key fob to replace the battery. She couldn't open it without tools, so I grabbed some from the van and helped her out. It was a Mazda 6 I think? Definitely a Mazda, I'm just not great at their models of cars. But anyways, really dumb key design. You shouldn't need any tools to replace the battery, and this required two.

We stayed until the car was actually gone from the parking lot, just to be sure everything was all set. During that whole thing, Mandy had messaged Shiloh Winery, a Harvest Host in town. We were looking forward to checking it out, but they responded and said that their road was muddy due to the rain and that we shouldn't attempt to drive it. So, I guess they just close for the day? I dunno. Seems odd. But we drove a few miles further up the highway to a rest area. Kansas fun fact #2: You can stay at any rest area up to 24 hours.

It pretty much rained all night, so we worked on video editing, video-chatted with some family, watched some shows, and went to bed early-ish. High winds rocked us to sleep and big rigs flying down the highway all night offered soothing sounds to fall asleep to.

 

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So, we woke up in the rest area in WaKeeney, KS. No big excitement there. It was just truck noises and wind blowing across the plains all night. One or two other cars had spent the night as well, so at least we weren't totally alone? Then, we drove. We drove all the way to Clinton Lake, where there is another conservation area. It rained off and on, but mostly on all the way there.





The Clinton Lake Conservation Area is an Army Corps of Engineers site which allows camping. It seems all, or at least most of the conservation areas in this region allow camping up to 14 days in any 30 days for free. So, we took advantage. We parked there fairly early, and donned all our rain gear, and set out on a hike. The camping area is on something of a peninsula into Clinton Lake, and there's a trail that follows the shore for most of it. I think it's about 4 miles total. There are several hike-in campsites as well, that are along this hike. Since it had been raining all day, the trail was also acting as a river for most of its length. Where we weren't walking IN the water, we were cutting across it. But all our gear performed excellently, and we stayed pretty dry underneath. And by the end of the hike, the sun was mostly out, and it was starting to clear off. We dried off Loki and hung up all our clothes to dry inside the shower. Unfortunately, we only took Mandy's phone on the hike, so I don't have access to those pictures at the moment.

Then, we made dinner. While we were cooking, we called ahead to some friends. We'll be seeing them in a couple weeks, so we wanted to go over some details just to make sure we were all on the same page. Plus, we hadn't talked to them in a bit, so it was nice to catch up on things anyways. Although the sun had come out before it reached the horizon, it wasn't enough to dry everything out before nightfall. We'd spent enough time being in the wet, so we opted to finish off the night inside where it was mostly dry.

 

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Thursday started off far better than all of Wednesday had been. It was partly cloudy, but the kind where it's mostly sunny and you just have those fantastical shapes in the sky to admire. You know the big puffy white ones that just seem unimaginably huge, but also don't really impede on the sunlight. It was already warm, and things were starting to dry off. But there was still a decent amount of runoff along the sides of the dirt roads in the area we walked.



See, after breakfast, instead of walking the hiking trail again, we walked the other way. On the "main roads". That part's a joke. They were just dirt roads between apparent farms. It's always nice when we can walk dog down the middle of a road and not worry about any cars coming, though. He didn't seem interested in the cows or the horses at all. They were keen to keep an eye on him as we passed, though.



After we reached two different dead ends, we made back for the van and set out. We drove about an hour into Kansas City to try out some of the famous BBQ the city produces. You didn't think we'd miss a BBQ stop, did you? You must be new here. It's okay, no judgement. We only ask the same from you. Slaps allowed Loki to hang with us on their patio which is actually screened in, with a roof overhead, and space heaters. Not that it was very cold outside, but the heaters were really nice to take the edge off and made it much more comfortable. I got a half rack of ribs and Mandy got a brisket sandwich. It was all delicious, but I think she made the better call. That brisket was ridiculously good.



Anyway, from there, we drove southeast about another hour to Montrose Conservation Area. This was similar to the previous one, although it was in a new state. And I believe it was not managed by the COE, but rather the state of Missouri. But the rules were the same, regarding stay limits. And the facilities were similar. Just grassy lots to park and pitch a tent, one pit toilet, and that was pretty much it. But whereas the Clinton Lake site required hiking to see the water, Montrose Conservation Area has camping areas available right on the water's edge. Can't beat that.

We seemed to be tracking along the tail edge of the storm as we and it moved eastward. As such, it was a little bit dreary when we arrived. It wasn't miserable weather, but it wasn't super nice either. But we walked Loki for a while down the roads. There was some traffic, but not very much. For the most part, we were alone out there. We walked across the bridge over the lake which offered a really nice view of the conservation area. I think these sorts of areas get overlooked often but are just as beautiful as some of the more popular landscapes like canyons and mountains. There are more flies and such in the marshes and swampy areas around the pond, sure, but that's just an indicator that the area is teeming with life. We saw fish jumping out of the water to eat, and a whole flock of birds darting about around the bridge, presumably doing the same. There were a few of what I believe to be herons (I'm not a bird person!) or something similar. Beautiful, graceful giants. A deer crossed the road ahead of us, just moseying.

We sent a few messages to catch up with friends while we were on the bridge because it was the only place around that had any service whatsoever. Which was kind of weird, but we just rolled with it. Then we circled back home for dinner. The ground was still a bit damp, and being right on the water, I'm sure we'd have been carried off by flies if we hung out outside after dusk. So, we opted to stay in after dinner again.

 

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Friday morning was gorgeous. We set out for another walk. We went back over the bridge, but this time we wanted to find the other nearby camping area. Just for curiosity. We walked way past it by mistake, and then found it on our way back. It's on the opposite side and end of the bridge from the place we were parked. The other camping area also has a boat launch. And it's much larger, but there's not a lot of flat land for parking on. We talked for a few minutes with a man staying there who said that on Thursday someone had missed the state catfish record by 2 pounds. They hauled out a 75-pound catfish. I had no idea catfish could get even remotely that large. The biggest I've seen were probably around 5-10 pounds. After we scoped that place out, we started to head back to the van. On our way, it got actually hot outside. The sun was out in full force, finally.



From Montrose Lake, we headed to Warsaw, MO, to do laundry. Then we stopped at a gas station called PUMP 'N' MUNCH to fill up our water tanks. I later saw a fuel stop called FILLER UP & LIQUOR, so I guess it's a thing in Missouri to sexualize gas stations? So strange. We kept on truckin', ultimately getting to Fiery Fork Conservation Area in Climax Springs. There are several small creeks here, and lots of woods. We found an unoccupied spot atop a small hill and backed in for the night. Then we took a walk. It seems we always walk right after driving, which I like. It helps to get things moving again after sitting. And Loki probably needs it most of all of us. But it's also nice to get the lay of the surrounding land area. We've been lucky in that we haven't felt the need to move after parking yet (minor adjustments to level the van aside), but the walks are a good opportunity to determine if the area feels safe. And sometimes it's a good way to meet the neighbors.



We walked down to the largest of the creeks and dipped our feet. The water was pretty cold, but the children didn't seem to care. They were screaming and playing and having a grand old time in there. There were tons of them. The yelling was a bit much, so we moved further downstream to find a spot to ourselves and so Loki wouldn't possibly get mad at other dogs. That spot didn't really exist, along the accessible shoreline, and the water was somewhat dirty, so we went back to the road. We were parked at a dead end, so we walked back the way we came. It was about a mile or so to cell service. We laughed that they misspelled the conservation area sign, because it actually marked the conversation area.



It was still hot in the sun, but luckily the van was parked in a decent amount of shade. So, we went back to make some dinner and get out of the sun. Unfortunately, the number of flies in the area was off the charts. We deployed our screens, but they keep the flies in just as well as they keep them out. We ultimately just accepted that we were going to have to live with them for a time. Until Loki did his job to take care of them. There weren't a noticeable number of mosquitoes, so we hung out outside and just ignored the flies. We didn't really meet anyone nearby, unfortunately. We were cordial, but it didn't seem any of them were interested in us, and I'm sure they had their hands full with the number of children running about. We weren't upset about it. It's just interesting how some places people seem very eager to make friends or conversation, and other places everyone's in their own bubbles.

 

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Saturday morning presented excellent weather, again. We took another walk about the conservation area roads before it got terribly hot outside. Back at the van, we set to work cleaning. The dash probably gets neglected the most, but it's so much more enjoyable to drive, in my opinion, if the cockpit is clean and tidy. So, I cleaned off all the dust, dirt, and dog hair. It's not perfect, I'm not a professional detailer, but it's good enough to feel a huge improvement. Loki's side gets the worst of it because he drools and puts his paws on everything over there. It's not his fault, it's just something that happens. Mandy worked on the floor of the rest of the van at the same time. It had to be done but washing the door panels let in the most number of flies. Oh well. It felt like there were dozens of them in here. Kind of gross, but what could we do? Leave, that's what.



So, we did. We just had a short ride from there to Seven Springs Winery near the lake. They're a Harvest Host. And their location is gorgeous! The spot we went to was not the winery, but rather just an events site. They have a tasting room which is super nice. Probably too fancy for us by a measure. But they didn't kick us out. Nor Loki. So that was awesome. We sampled all their wines to try to determine which we wanted to take with us. I never know by simply reading a description if I'll like it or not. We found a red and a white we both liked. So, we got a bottle of each. We took the red to the patio with a plate of breads and oils, and just relaxed together a while. We only had some of the bottle before we finished the bread. Yet we were still hungry. So, we took our wines and went back to the van. We were given freedom to park anywhere we liked but were advised to keep off the grass for fear of getting stuck in mud. They didn't seem to mind if we did, it was more an advisory for our own sake. But we heeded the advice and kept to the pavement.



We found a flat spot to park in an overflow lot next to the orchard and whipped up some dinner. As we were cleaning up, we spotted another van that had arrived. When we walked Loki around afterwards, we talked with the van's owners for a few, and reached an agreement to meet under the pergola for more socializing. We cleaned up a few more things inside and grabbed our chairs and setup by the pergola in the middle of the orchard. What a beautiful spot! We brought the remainder of our opened bottle of wine. John and Kerry (not John Kerry) met us and brought their own portable propane firepit. It was so nice and fit the orchard vibe perfectly. John and Kerry were awesome, and we had a blast chatting with them well past dark. Loki was totally content to pass out on his bed between our chairs. Probably because there was no smoke from the fire. Eventually, we all got tired and decided to call it a night.

 

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Sunday morning, we walked the grounds of the not-winery-"just"-a-tasting-room-that's-so-much-more-than-a-tasting-room with Loki before setting out. We had a plan for this day! Rare, I know. But if any of you recall, we went to Mexico for a week in February. While we were there, we met some wonderful people. One such couple, Steve and Kari, reached out to Mandy recently through Facebook to see when we'd be passing through and invited us on their boat! She sorted all the details, and today was the day. We had no real idea what to expect for a boat but would have fun on anything that floats anyways, so it didn't matter to us. It was exciting to get to see familiar faces, too. We dropped off Loki at a dog-sitter in the morning and headed to Horny Toads to get picked up at 11.



What a freaking boat! It was a 48-foot Sundancer and it was beautiful! It's definitely the largest, and nicest!, privately-owned boat I've ever been on. We hung out above-deck as they were getting their water tanks filled at the dock before setting out. Then, Kari gave us the tour below. The galley is so classy. We love it. We both immediately imagined living in such a boat. We'd have WAY MORE room. Theirs is a two-bedroom, two-bath layout. With a full kitchen, standalone shower, a freaking LIVING ROOM! Plus, the whole upper deck, which can be enclosed. And there's bed enough for probably 6-8 people. Somewhere around there. It was nuts.



We cruised across part of the lake to pick up some other friends of theirs, who we had also by chance met in Mexico. And then we all went to a popular cove on the lake, where a bunch more of their friends had arranged to meet up. It seems like the popular move is to anchor the boats alongside each other, and tie them off together, and float around behind them. Or just hang out on them. Dance party. Drink a drink. Eat some lunch. There were about 8 boats lashed together with Kari and Steve's, and then there were several other clusters about the cove, some with even more boats in the lineup. Unfortunately, on the ride out, Steve noticed that the forward thruster failed. So, once parked, he and I attempted some troubleshooting. We were unable to find anything amiss, which is always frustrating. Mandy and I spent forever in the water and in the sun. Until, eventually, we got a 10-minute warning. Everyone would be departing shortly.



Somehow, in a conversation I completely missed, we were arranged to ride back to the van on Chris' boat. We'd just met him an hour or two earlier. His boat was the most eye-catching to me, in the lineup. It was an Outerlimits, which I'd never heard of, but I had asked him for a tour of the boat, and he happily obliged. What an impressive machine! It has TWO 8.6L engines in an inboard/outboard configuration. It's probably about 50 feet long and has the most-bolstery seats I've ever sat in. It feels like the seat of a modern roller coaster. I was surprised, yet excited, to find that would be our ride home. What took about a half hour in the morning was over in five minutes that afternoon. I'm certain the boat had way more in it than what we got to experience, because the speedometer barely registered at 60mph, but the chop on the lake was insane, so it probably wouldn't have been prudent to push much more. But I'm not a boat person. In any event, we did manage to get the boat completely out of the water on the way which was a new one for me. We thoroughly enjoyed the ride, and thanked Chris profusely when he dropped us off.



We grabbed some groceries while we could both enter the store together. A rare treat. Then, we went to pick up Loki and find a place for the night. We hadn't planned beyond the boating, since we didn't know when we'd be getting off the boat. John and Kerry had mentioned they may be staying at the winery again, so we reached out to see if they were still around so we could hang with them again. No dice. Instead, we just parked at Walmart for the night. It was basically dead in the parking lot, only one other camper was there. So, it was actually not at all bad.

 

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Monday was Memorial Day. We walked a loop around the Walmart with Loki, and then finished editing our video about Kansas, and got it posted. We try to do Sundays, but the cell service situation has been so bad, and we've been busy, so. Sue us. Anyways, that's just to say that we got somewhat of a late start leaving Walmart. Not that we're on a schedule, really, but it wasn't like we left right when we woke up. We drove in somewhat of a roundabout fashion towards Potosi. I'm not sure why or what happened with the navigation exactly. We weren't in a rush, though, and I was in the back not paying attention. But the point is that it took longer than the two hours it should have. We drove to Brazil Creek Campground, but it was full, and full of horses, so we moved on to Barryman Campground, just down the road.

So, all of that is to say that by the time we arrived at Barryman Campground, we were ready to begin cooking dinner. But it was pretty toasty outside. So, I built a fire in the pit while Mandy prepped all the foods. And then we cooked over the campfire. This keeps so much heat out of the van, which is a huge help for sleeping comfort. We had a pork loin, diced potatoes, corn cobs, and some jalapeno poppers wrapped in bacon. It was incredibly hot working next to the fire, but the food came out so good it was worth it.

We ate till we were full and saved the rest. I took a cold shower to cool off, and we hung out outside until the mosquitoes mounted their assault around dusk. Then, we moved inside and went to bed.

I'm realizing now that I took zero pictures of value the whole day. Sorry guys. This is all I have:

 

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Tuesday morning, we took a walk along the Ozark Trail from Barryman Campground. We studied the maps before setting out and realized most of the hikes were at least 15 miles. We weren't in the market for an all-day thing, but we found a quasi-loop that looked doable. We followed the OT out to Missouri Route 8, and then came back to the campground on Barryman Road. It was a nice little walk, maybe an hour and a half? I'm not sure. We saw no people, other than the few cars that passed us by once we were back on pavement.

Loki was pooped when we got home and went immediately under the van. We were in no rush to leave, so we meandered through our day. I gave myself a haircut. Did some yoga. We did some reading. I was frustrated by the cell service here; it seemed to go in and out, almost periodically. We'd go from nearly-full 5G service, to none whatsoever. And back and forth. I tried writing to you guys, but it was too annoying to be worthwhile. Every time I wanted to look something up, of course, the service would vanish.

By midafternoon, we began packing up and setting out. We were very low on freshwater, so that was our primary objective. We stopped for diesel and asked about using some water from the station. They allowed it, but really preferred only filling a handheld water tank, so we moved on. I didn't want to push their generosity. I stopped at a few more stations to check, but none even had a spigot that I saw. I gave up for a while, and just cruised along our route until I saw a rest area. Last one for almost 70 miles. So, I stopped, and we checked. They had a nice picnic area with spigots and garden hose connectors. Our hose came up about 10 feet short of the parking space, once connected and stretched out. Dangit!

We continued on to Cape Girardeau, Missouri. It sits alongside the Mississippi River and is such a cool town we've never heard of. We found water next to a fuel pump at a station in town, and finally filled up. Thankfully. Then, we were getting pretty hungry and the food we had to cook would have taken longer than we wanted to wait, so we went to Ebb & Flow Fermentations, because their menu looked good. And it was! We sampled a couple beers, and a flatbread pizza with ribs and bacon. I also got a pork sandwich that was really good. Their patio was really nice, too, and super dog-friendly. Unfortunately, Loki was a little antsy, I suspect because it was hot and humid and he just wanted to be cold. He's a husky, remember. Lucky for him he's got short hair, which I'm sure helps some.



We didn't stick around long after we finished eating, because Loki wanted to keep moving. Which is counter to his goal of being cool, but he doesn't understand that, so we oblige. We found a riverwalk just a couple blocks away, and we walked along the Mississippi until it was well dark outside. As we walked past the wall that feels like a fortress to head back to the van, we realized how much cooler the air was by the water. If only we had a boat instead. But we don't. We got into a warm van by way of a big step up, because the power step on the passenger's side is acting strangely.

We sweat our way through the night and tried to convince ourselves we were resting.

 

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Wednesday, we headed out from Cape Girardeau after our morning stroll along the Mississippi. We made our way to the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area. Unfortunately, we only stopped for water since it's free there. It was incredibly humid while we were there, so at the time we weren't really inclined to seek out any hikes. But now that it's too late, I kind of wish we'd had a look around. In any case, we kept on driving through after filling up and made our way ultimately to Hendersonville, just outside of Nashville.

As you may recall, we'd been through Nashville back at the start of our journey, 5 months ago. This time we were keen to avoid the city, and the researching I did along the way lead us to a spot just outside, anyways. So, win-win. On our last pass through, we got hot chicken sandwiches, as you do. They were pretty good, so we wanted to get another. But at a different place, for scientific purposes. So, I looked up a list of the best places, found one that was open that wouldn't require us to drive into the city proper, and beamed it up to the van's navigation. We wound up at a place called Slow Burn Hot Chicken. We each got a basic sandwich and were blown away. It was leagues better than the previous versions we had. While we were eating, the manager, Marlon, started talking to us about our van. He was interested and interesting, so we talked to him for a bit, super nice guy. Mandy asked if he had any issues with us parking overnight in the lot, and he didn't. In fact, he went as far as notifying the police officer monitoring traffic across the street that we had his express permission to park overnight so that we wouldn't be bothered. And we weren't. The sandwich was so good, and I was still so hungry that I ordered some more tenders to go. A little hot chicken dessert, if you will.

After that, we retired to the van. I did an experiment with our airflow setup that I think worked better than others, so I'll share it in case any of you have the same window and fan configuration as us. We closed all the windows except for the small ones in our flares. These are by our heads and feets when we're lying in bed. Then, we turned the fan on to draw air out at medium speed. This forced the cooler outside air to be drawn in from outside, directly past us. I'm a little embarrassed that I hadn't thought of this earlier. Typically, we just try to open everything as much as we possibly can and assume that the most airflow will drive the quickest cooling. But anyways, that's just a little tidbit for ya, if you need it.

 

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Thursday morning, we walked around the businesses nearby. Not very scenic, nor great for walking. But, whatever. At least we were out there moving around. Our plan for the day was to head just around the lake to a campground nearby, and have a non-driving day, just hanging out exploring. But there's the plan, and then what happens.



Our friend Rob had texted earlier in the week to invite us to dinner Friday night. I gave him an update of where we were at, just to say hey, and he said to come down a day earlier if we wanted. We were only 3.5 hours away, which is what we like to do in a typical driving day anyways, so we went for it. We divided the drive up by Chattanooga. We stopped there to check out the riverwalk which was pretty cool. They were gearing up for a festival over the weekend, it seemed, so some stretches of it were blocked off for that. The section we walked around near the aquarium was pretty cool though! But then, it was also pretty hot. So, we walked away from the water (makes sense, right?) to get iced coffees at Cadence Coffee Company. These cooled us off on our walk back towards the van. We hopped in and continued our ride.


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We made it to Rob's in Kennesaw, GA without issue. It was awesome to see another familiar face on the road. Well, he was in his house now. But we were on the road. And we met him on the road. He was living in his Earthroamer, but it's in their shop for service now. We met him at a dispersed campsite back in Arizona, if you remember. Awesome dude with an adorable puppy, Bandit. Bandit and Loki get along really well which is increasingly rare for Loki in his old age. So, that's really nice to see. Sometimes I feel bad that he doesn't have any regular friends out here; it probably makes him a bit sad. But he'll see some old friends soon enough and I think he'll be pumped for that. I just don't know how to explain that to him. I'm not sure he understands the concept of future.

Anyways! I didn't take a ton of pictures of our time with Rob unfortunately. I usually forget about it when we're around other people. I don't know why. I should work on that. We went out to a Korean BBQ spot in town, called KPOP. This was our first Korean BBQ experience, and it was awesome. The meats were all excellent. The kimchi was weird, but also really good. We shared several rounds of various meats over the grille and learned about soju rituals and games. It was an awesome time. After dinner, we walked the dogs and then slept inside the house. It feels so strange to sleep inside a house now. It's great, it's just different. And it's weird that it feels weird. But that's it.

 

[rob cote]

Friday, we took a nice, leisurely start to our day. But eventually got moving. I forget if I mentioned it here or not, but we've been having issues with the passenger's side power step since Cape Girardeau. We had mentioned trying to find a DIY car wash so we could get the Kansas mud off of the van. Rob counter-offered with the use of his driveway and car cleaning equipment instead. We happily accepted, knowing we could do a much more thorough job taking our time. I always feel in a rush at the DIY drive through car washes. If you take your time, it costs more. Instead, we used the pressure washer, foam cannon, soap brush, and sponge. It's probably the cleanest the van has been since it left the dealership, honestly. It felt good.

After the car wash, and after Rob was finished working, Mandy cooked us up some ramen for lunch. This time it was a spicy peanut chicken recipe with jalapeno and cilantro and lime. It was SO good. I don't think there was actually a recipe. I was working on video editing and not paying attention. But I think she just makes it up as she goes. So, sorry I can't share. I would if I could. After lunch, we all took a ride to a park on Lake Acworth to walk the dogs around. The dog-accessible portion was smaller than we hoped and Rob remembered, but we enjoyed it anyways. Loki was content with the relatively short walk, but Bandit is never exhausted. We left after we'd seen it all, and on our way back made a split-second decision to go to Red Top Brewhouse. There's a small dog park here where you're allowed to bring a beer. So, we hung out on the picnic table and let the dogs chill while we enjoyed a beer in the sun. It was perfect!

We brought the dogs back to Rob's place, and then he wanted to show us another of his favorite restaurants nearby. We went to Italia Mediterranean Grill. He was obviously close with the owner, Luigi. We didn't really know what we wanted, and we said as much to Luigi. His eyes lit up and he said, "No worries, I'll make you something." I honestly love this approach sometimes. We were served what I think was penne alla diavolo? It was a red sauce, and the accent was really hard to hear through. Luigi is Roman and has been a restauranteur in Rome for about 30 years. He moved to the states fairly recently and is cooking here now. He also brought us tortellini with beef and gorgonzola, which was the best tortellini I've ever had by a long shot. And then meatballs which were outstanding. There was a delicious flatbread as well, and wine, of course. Luigi sat and chatted with us, as it was a slow night, and we loved his company. He was actually a hysterical storyteller. Rob and I were still a tiny bit hungry, so he went back to the kitchen and whipped up a chicken dish that was probably the best way to end the meal. It was super thin fillets breaded and fried. Simple, but delicious.

As we talked more with Luigi, the topic of dessert came up, and Rob mentioned that he'd been previously disappointed by the tiramisu because it was frozen. Luigi told Rob that in fact HE was frozen, and served us one of each of his desserts, which was tiramisu, of course, but also a key lime cake, and a cheesecake. Tiramisu is my favorite dessert, so I was disappointed as well when Rob said it wasn't great, but my hopes were reignited by Luigi's vehement denial at the thought of freezing tiramisu. It was the best I've ever had, easily. He is obviously a fantastic all-around cook, and we STRONGLY SUGGEST you go here if you're ever remotely close. As we were eating dessert, Luigi shared with us some vodka his friend made. I don't ever drink a vodka plain. I rarely drink vodka at all, actually. I dunno what was special about it, but it was actually quite good. It had flavor, which I didn't think vodka had flavor. And it didn't burn. We ended up being there for a few hours at least. It was a beautiful dinner experience. The most surprising thing, I think, was the building. It's a really unassuming building, with pretty basic decor. None of the pretense you expect at a fancy restaurant. It's not fancy. It's just straight up delicious, authentic Italian cooking. Luigi and his wife really made the whole experience for us, though. Beautiful, hilarious, down-to-earth people that just love what they do for work.

After dinner, we went back home to hang out with Loki a while before bed.

 

[rob cote]

Saturday, we spent the morning trying to figure out our plan. We ultimately decided to head towards Savannah. Mandy's wanted to go there for years. I don't feel as strongly as she does, but I'd like to go, too. But I think a large part of the reason I want to go is because she wants to go. If that makes sense. If you have a spouse or a travel partner, you know what I'm saying. Anyway, we wanted to shoot to leave by 2pm, so we could get to Savannah around dinner time.

Rob wanted to show us one more restaurant he loves before we left. So, we finished up working on our video, and then we went just down the road to Tacos Del Chavo. He hyped their tacos quite a bit, but we remained skeptical. I've heard that so many times only to be let down. We've been chasing the high of our first street tacos in Antigua, Guatemala since that day in 2016. Tacos Del Chavo is 100% legit. Their menu lists separately "American Tacos" and "Mexican Tacos". Mexican style is just meat, onion, cilantro on a corn tortilla. Like they're supposed to be. Their meats are SO GOOD. We tried chicharron, birria, and carnitas. I just looked at their menu online which lists adobada as well. I didn't see that when we were there, otherwise I'd definitely have ordered that. I'm sure it would be amazing, based off the others which we did have. We also got an order of churros which were awesome, as expected. But I learned that Mandy's NEVER HAD CHURROS BEFORE!! I was shocked to learn that. Who's never had churros, what the hell!?

After lunch, we said our goodbyes to Rob, and thanked him profusely for the fantastic restaurant tour, use of his house and car wash. Then, we set off to Savannah in a beautifully clean van. Except, during lunch, we'd been in contact with an old friend and neighbor of my mom who happened to live just a couple towns over. We were invited to their house to use their pool and hang out, so we decided to shove Savannah back a day. Or at least stop by for a short while, and then make the drive a bit later. So, we only had about a half-hour ride to Austell, and there we met Jim and Jenni, and their dog, Tukka. Their giant beast of lapdog, 130lbs bulldog/rottweiler mix, Tukka. He is adorably dopey and gigantic and has so much energy. He was STOKED to meet us, and he and Loki had a good time relaxing by the pool in their fenced backyard.

The southern hospitality is REAL. We had no real expectations. I was never super close with these people, but friendly, of course. As you are with friends of your parents, you know? But they opened their home to us without reservation. They offered us drinks and hung out in the pool with us and Tukka. Loki doesn't swim much, and only gets in if it's a ramp rather than stairs. Sandy beaches are his ideal swimming conditions. And even then, he usually does one small loop to get wet and that's it. Anyway, they also offered us use of their laundry, which we ultimately accepted. They offered us dinner, which was simple, but delicious, and definitely appreciated. And they kept us company for hours. We had a wicked good time hanging out and having a pool day. We were out there well into night playing cards under the pergola, catching up and socializing. Not that I expected it to be bad obviously, but it was so much better than I did expect. We had a blast, honestly, and then we slept in their driveway. Once we got into the pool, we knew we didn't feel like driving all the way to Savannah that night, and it was totally fine. Oh well, we'll go in the morning!

 

[rob cote]

Sunday, we woke up and said a quick goodbye and a longer thank you to our hosts, and then we hit the road. We pretty much bee-lined it towards Savannah, GA. Or so I thought. Mandy drove, so I was kind of oblivious to the situation. She took us to Hybee Island, which is not actually, technically Savannah. I think. I'm pretty sure though. But regardless, that's where we were.



We parked at a park and walked around it. Then we decided to head towards the beach. We didn't really have a destination in mind when we set out, but it's an adorable little area, so we were enjoying just looking around. Dogs aren't allowed on the beach, so that was kind of a bust. Mandy checked it out briefly, while I hung out with Loki. The sand was way too hot anyways, she said. So, we went back to the park and the van. This whole time, mind you, we felt as if we were swimming through the air. Everything was just so WET. We miss the utter lack of a single water molecule in the entirety of the Midwest. But it's what it's. We made some lunch/dinner - lunner? - while it was still wicked hot out. The logic was that we still had some driving to do, and could cool off the van then, rather than parking for the night and then heating it up inside. So, we ate spicy chicken thighs and rice with broccoli. It was so good, but I was soaked with sweat by the end of it.



We cleaned up and ran out of time on our parking ticket, so we headed into Savannah proper. We found a parking spot near the riverwalk for free because it was Sunday. We hopped out and walked around by the water for a while. We got a beer and watched the ships coming and going. We admired the old stonemasonry. As we wandered away from the water, we frowned at the temperature increase. I stopped to read a plaque on a statue and immediately felt a burning in my foot. I'd stepped on an anthill and my foot was SWARMING with ants. The bitey kind. So, that was interesting. I kicked off my flops and slapped at my foot. We found a boutique pet store and got Loki a donut. Only the best for his bougie ass. He gobbled it all up.



Eventually, slowly, we made our way home. We were originally planning to move to a different parking spot in the city, but when we got back and checked the signs, we realized we could park overnight there for free, so we stayed. It was a bit early, but we needed time to just lay there and cool off for quite a while before sleep would come. Finally, it did. Wet though it was. Kinda gross.

 

[rob cote]

Monday, we woke up in downtown Savannah. It had been a loud night; lots of modified exhausts in this city. And large trucks coming and going. But it was fine. That's just part of it, so we're adapted. We walked around a bit with Loki, but as the humidity started to seep back in aided by the day's rising temperature, we broke out. Next state, please! We aimed for St. Augustine, Florida. We drove to Vilano Beach, first though. We'd had a boat day and a pool day. A beach day felt appropriate. We found a parking lot and a pedestrian bridge over A1A that landed us directly onto the beach sand. How convenient!



On the drive to the beach, it had intermittently torrentially rained on us. It was clear and sunny, separated by patches of you-can-barely-see-the-car-in-front-of-you heavy rain. Weird weather. But the storm persisted even to the beach. It appeared to have previously rained on the beach before we arrived, but not heavily. Just enough to cool the sand a bit. And make some waves. Pretty frickin' big waves. Further down the coast there was some lightning. Which, I know is not ideal for swimming. But I did it anyways. I at least understand the way it works, and I felt confident that the distances involved were safe enough for me. I'm typing this to you now, so you can surmise how it went. Anyway, I wanted to play around in the waves a while. It was a legitimate workout. The amount of power there is crazy, but it's awesome to be right IN it. You know? I headed back in before I got too tired to actually be able to make it. It happens pretty quick, considering it feels like you're just standing there in the water.



Back on the land, we watched the weather pass us by. The sun peeked out briefly and then snuck off behind the clouds again. We found a spot to go for the night on Hip Camp. Mandy found it actually. We headed there, just to navigate it in the daylight. We had plans to go back out, though. It was a cool spot tucked away on a tiny back road where someone has a horse farm. There's a large training field (I'm assuming here) for the horses. You can park anywhere in the field. So, we found a shady spot and parked a while. Loki ate, and we cleaned the van a bit, until a little after 5pm. Then, we headed out.



A long time ago, Mandy went to a tiny school in northern Maine. A girl showed up there for 2 years, and they became friends. But one day, she disappeared. It's actually not as dramatic as it sounds - they've been in touch since through the internet. But she never returned, and they never met up again. Until today. Finally! This was a motivator for us visiting St. A, although it was along our route, more or less, anyways. We met up with Chloe and her husband, Steven at Bog Brewing. He's the brewer there, and so we sampled a bunch of his work. Fantastic beers here! We spent hours catching up with them; it had been 18 years! I guess I wasn't catching up but getting to know them in the first place. What awesome people they are, though. We had a great time, and immediately clicked. We hope to travel with them in the future. As the night drew on, Steven had to head home for an early start working Tuesday. We said our goodbyes and felt a pang of sadness that our time with them was so short. For tomorrow, we'd be moving on our journey. But we really hope to find them again soon. Sooner than the next 18 years, to be sure.

We headed back to the horse farm. The field was simple to navigate in the dark, since we already knew the lay of the land. We parked and got into bed. Sweaty, per usual now. Bleh.