November 1st marks the beginning of our 3rd year living full-time in our tiny home; Stella Lance. Year 1 we traveled for 6 months starting at First Landing State Park in Virginia Beach. We visited 12 states and stayed in 21 different campgrounds. We bookended our trips with stays with my brother and sister-in-law, Scott and Karen, in Frederick, MD. Every year they have been our first stop after leaving NY and our last stop before returning. We're so blessed to count them as close friends as well as family. The longest we stayed in one place that year was Tamiami Village RV Park in North Fort Myers, where we were for a month - technically. We were back in NY for a good portion of that month when my dad was sick. We also enjoyed the hospitality of staying with our dear friends Patti and Freddie in Fort Myers twice that first year. After traveling to Texas and having 30 degree temps, we made an about face and returned to FL for a couple of weeks of sunshine and another dose of BFF time with Patti and Freddie.
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Freddie, Patti, Kelly, Carol - Point Ybel Brewing Co.
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That first year was a learning experience. We learned that you need to start making reservations months to a year in advance. Being spontaneous is great in theory but in reality, hordes of people want to be in the sunbelt in the winter and you gotta be prepared. We also learned that we didn't like short stays of only 3-4 days. It's a lot of work to set up camp only to break down again a few days later. We decided we'd try for a week at a time in one location after all that moving around. We also learned that if you are shooting for average temperatures of 77+, Florida is really the place to be.
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Sign made by Scott Wight
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| Our Tamiami Posse - Jane, Kelly, Carol, Pam, Rita, Chickie, Lori and Anne |
(The nice thing about being in one place for the season is that you have time to make friends. We were so fortunate to meet several wonderful women that became close friends, who we now refer to as "The Posse". We look forward to reuniting this crew when everyone returns for the winter. 😀)
Year 2, we were able to get a seasonal site at Tamiami Village RV Park in North Fort Myers, and the only traveling we did was getting to Florida. Returning to NY in the spring was a different story because of COVID. Many campgrounds were closed or had no services such as restrooms, showers, pools, etc open. We made our way north quickly and landed at Saratoga RV Park the last week of April, where we stayed for a month. This gave us a chance to spend time with my dad and see Maria and the kids and Carol's sister Kathy; who all live close by.
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| Biking with Alana and Gregory in Queensbury |
In May we headed "home" for the summer for our second season at Charlie's Inn Campground in Lake Clear, NY. Being back for the summer means golf for Carol and book club (in person, outdoors) for me. It means catching up with David, Peter and Jack, Carol's siblings and spouses Colleen and Dan and Chowder and Sue as well as lots of friends. We kayaked, swam at Lake Clear beach, biked around Fish Creek and enjoyed a spectacular Adirondack summer. We spent a lot of time watching the birds who came to our bird feeder. We had a small family gathering to inter my mother's ashes, which meant an opportunity to have a "family camping" gathering at Charlie's Inn for a weekend in July. I officiated a couple of weddings, which is such an honor and something I hope to do more in the future.
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Our site at Charlie's Inn Campground
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Socially Distant visit with the kids - David, Peter, Meg, Carol, Kelly, Jack
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Golf with Barb, Carol, Katie and Tammy
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Lunch with "The Girls" - Kelly, Carol, Marilyn, Liz, KMunn, Kelly M, Kathy, Colleen
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Taking a swim break while kayaking
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Our kayaks
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Book Club at Charlie's Inn
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September pulled us out of retirement briefly. As Saranac Lake CSD was gearing up to return to in-person instruction for the first time since March, we agreed to help out by subbing every day to be an extra set of hands - Carol at the high school and me at the elementary school. We both loved the chance to be back in familiar surroundings, with former colleagues and friends, being able to help in any little way to get the year off to a good start for the staff and students. It was an honor to be asked and a pleasure to be a part of the hard work being done by administrators and faculty to redesign safe, socially distant public education. We knew we could only stay for a month before we had to move on to our fall spot at Saratoga RV Park.
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Nature walk with the grandkids at Hudson Pointe Nature Preserve
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Socially distant lunch with Kathy Baker
 | One last visit before getting on the road
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On Nov. 6th we started our southern migration, stopping for a quick weekend with Scott and Karen. We were fortunate to enjoy a spectacular dinner at Bryan Voltaggio's new restaurant Thatcher and Rye in Frederick, MD with them before continuing our southern adventures. We got as far as Santee, SC where we took advantage of Cracker Barrel's generous free overnight accommodations for RVs. On Nov. 9th we arrived at Jekyll Island Campground, GA where we will be for two weeks. We stayed here for a week last year and loved it so much we wanted a longer stay this time.
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Kelly, Carol, Karen, Scott - Thatcher and Rye, Frederick, MD
 | | Scott, Carol, Kelly, Karen, Bryan |
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Parked for the night, Cracker Barrel, Santee, SC
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We love the rustic nature of Jekyll Island Campground. It's tree filled, and very picturesque. The trees are all covered with Spanish Moss, giving the entire place a land before time kind of feel. We discovered there is a bird sanctuary in the campground and we've already enjoyed some beautiful bird sightings. There are bike paths covering the entire island, so it's a great chance to get out an explore by bike.
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| Jekyll Island has bike trails that cover the island. |
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Very unusual butterfly (moth?) seen on 11/11/2020
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People ask if we still enjoy this, how we handle being in such a small space, if we plan to keep up this nomadic life. Yes, we still enjoy this - both the simplicity and the travel. The full-time life affords us great flexibility and an affordable way to snowbird. Sure, we want to go out west, to see the National Parks, and Arizona and New Mexico and I believe we will someday. Right now, we are content to be able to escape the cold and snow of northern NY winters. For the first time, we are starting to think about something slightly bigger. We may hit a few RV shows this winter, who knows... no harm in looking. We will be the first to admit, this is not for everyone. But it's a great fit for us. We're only getting started. So many adventures await!
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