- Dierdre
- Apr 28, 2019
- 4 min read
Forgive the delay in writing this final chapter of my Adventure. I couldn't believe how exhausted I was. Between running around putting away the camping gear and doing errands here, I finally crashed yesterday and am feeling perky again!
First of all a million thanks to all of you who took a part in this Adventure with me. Whether we saw each other or you viewed the blog, you all were an important part. It really was incredibly special to go on this journey that I dreamt of doing for decades and it fulfilled every dream.
First of all, I would like to give my overall impression of the areas I visited. It actually left me a little heartbroken. The poverty I saw was vast and pervasive. It certainly did not speak well of the state of our beloved country.
We hear about the wretched condition of our infrastructure. It is so true. It was exhausting looking out for terrible potholes, cracks and missing pavement so as not to damage my minivan or cargo trailer. It was in every state. Some areas were good for a while then crumbled into a hellish ride. Shame on the decision makers who allowed this to happen and are doing NOTHING to fix it.
OK - enough negativity. The best part? The people. Everywhere I went I met wonderful, friendly folks, which is pretty typical of the camping genre. Needless to say, they were pretty interested in my Adventure and a few were curious about a a woman doing this alone. My comment back to them went, "I started traveling alone when I was 22 for work. Why not do it now for fun!" That usually satisfied them.
So now I am going to give you a synopsis of the best and worst experiences I had over the four weeks:
1. Best Beach: Gulf Islands National Park, Johnson Beach, Perdido Key. The best any beach can be! Worst Beach: No such thing. I LOVE beaches!
2. Best Food: This one is a tie. 2a -Sea and Suds, Gulf Shores. With a fabulous location right on the beach and delicious well-priced food, it was my fav! 2b.- I also loved the Oar House in Pensacola. The food was sooooo good and great service! Worst Food: The Crab Shack in Orange Beach. Horrible service, way overpriced and lousy food.
3. Best Campground: Big Lagoon State Park. Gorgeous sites made private by the lush shrubbery. Best restrooms and showers ever! Great Camp Hosts. You could find firewood at the little hot dog concession down by the West Lagoon site. The park had lots of different facilities and lots of nature trails. All in all, really good for $20/night. Next time - no sand site. I got bit to death by the sand fleas. Going for concrete slab or gravel. Worst Campground: Gulf Coast RV Park. Mostly because someone stole my heavy extension cord. I was a little put off that this seemed more like a residence park than a camp ground. Jonathan was a great guy who worked there and was very helpful to me! They did have good bathrooms with generous shower accommodations. The best part was that I was able to stay one more week at the beach because they had room for me. The site was incredibly small and totally exposed on every side.
4. Best Travel Route: Coming back I took Route 45 and it was delightful. Yeah, the roads were rough, as they were everywhere, but traffic was light and it was four-lane. I eventually hooked up with I 55, I 57 and Rt 51/39. All in all pretty good traffic and it was fun to see the Mississippi - twice. Worst Travel Route: I-65 OMG what a hell hole. The roads were the worst! Traffic came to a dead standstill in Nashville, south of Birmingham and on to Montgomery. It took a 20 hour drive and made it 29 hours! YIKES!
5. Best time I had: All the time I spent with my friends - George, Lois and Dave, Todd and Wanda, Linda and Steve and a wonderful reunion with Chuck and Helen Randle and Lynas Randle Lajter. No worst time time - the whole thing was fabulous!
So you see, this truly was a trip of a lifetime. Would I do this again? I don't think so - at least not camping the way I did. It was a LOT of work setting up and tearing down campsites - even at my boondocking nights. And as far as planning, during this time of year I would make certain to have reservations for the whole trip. This is still a very busy time in the areas I traveled and you want to make certain you are located at a safe site.
Do I want to go back? ABSOLUTELY! I may check out National and State parks for cabins. We'll see. I still have to straighten out this wreck of a house before I can even THINK about another trip!
Once again, thank you all for joining me. It mean a lot that I could tell my story to people who were really interested! If I could boil this down to one theme it would be. Follow your dreams and make them come true. It IS life changing!
