Faver Dykes State Park, St. Augustine, Florida This traveling stuff does get to be a lot of work. We thought we were adjusting for our old age and the exhaustion that comes with all of this having-fun-work by dropping in a down-day every now and then. But we are finding that even the down days aren't altogether restful. Yes, we do sleep in, and almost always get a nap, but we also have maintenance work to do like grocery shopping, laundry, and trailer cleaning. Those things not only take time, but they take energy and add a bit of stress to the day - where, for example, do we find a laundromat? Or a grocery store? We are thinking that maybe we need to throw in maintenance days to take care of the chores and errands, ... read more

Lake Okeechobee KOA, Okeechobee, Florida The torrential rains in Key West finally let up and we were able to get the trailer hitched and checked out of Boyd's. It was tough to say goodbye to both Key West and Boyd's. We had a beautiful spot amid the palm trees and Key West is a terrific place to spend a few days. But it was time to continue our journey and we logged another 260 miles yesterday, traveling a bit east, but mostly north. Driving back up US 1 was just as much fun as driving down - bridges of various lengths (one is 7 miles long). And the islands are of various lengths as well - some just a hundred yards, others many miles long. All connected by a single, two lane highway. Our late start ... read more

Duval Street and Mallory Square, Key West, Florida There's a guy on one end with a sort-of show involving sort-of acrobatic cats. He laughs at his own jokes with an exaggerated cackle that is more ridiculous than funny. We move on to the black dude with dreadlocks and sunglasses playing a pretty good steel drum. And all around you are several thousand people, all packed shoulder to shoulder, jostling for space, laughing, taking selfies, many drinking alcoholic beverages out of plastic cups. New Year's Eve at Times Square? Nope. This is every single night at Mallory Square in Key West. The party starts building an hour or so before sunset as there is a notable swell of folks heading North on Duval Street until they get to the Northern End or maybe Greene Street where they ... read more

Stock Island, Florida Keys, Florida What do you do when you suddenly have an extra day somewhere that was totally unanticipated? We still don't know how we managed to do that, but we are down at Boyd's campground with nothing planned for the day. But one of the most common activities for us on down days are naps and so we managed to get a couple of them in - we were tired but also needed to rest up for Monday's planned outing - which was a biggie. We did explore Boyd's a bit - this is glamping at its best. The number of huge motor homes is amazing and it seems that each one is also towing a boat. (If they don't have a boat, then it's a car (Smart cars are popular with these ... read more

Yesterday was a downday in more than the usual way. We received confirmation that our friend and neighbor in Questa, James Hagerty, died in the early hours of the morning a couple of days ago. Instead of a regular post, I'd like to write a few words in his memory. James was a key part of the Pinnabette Mountain story. He was, in my understanding of things, a true 'mountain man'. Although small in stature, he was large in character. With the wrinkles and creases in his face, he presented an almost timeless quality, and expressed a wisdom that only a life well-lived could exhibit. He had a wry smile that made you wonder just what mischief he might have been up to. He had some strange habits. He bragged about how he could shift his ... read more