Itinerary for Fall/Winter/Spring

vraiblonde

Board Mommy
PREMO Member
Patron
We leave here mid-Oct and head for:

Myrtle Beach - 1 week
Charleston - 1 week
Jacksonville, FL - 2 weeks
West Palm Beach, FL - 1 week
Marathon, FL - 2 months
Naples/Marco Island, FL - 1 month
Cedar Key, FL - 1 month
Panama City Beach, FL - 2 months

This takes us to June 1, and we have a month to kill before we need to be in Austin/Lake Travis for the month of July (my son is getting married). While in Austin, Monello is trying to get to Alaska for a week to salmon fish, during which time I want to take my grandson to a dude ranch. After we leave Austin, we're not sure which way we're going. We're thinking Grand Canyon, and we're also considering doing our Texas tour. I've been to Austin, Dallas, San Antonio, and Galveston, but Monello had the idea to take several months or a year and explore the whole state.

How we set our itinerary is we choose a major destination (this past summer's itinerary began with Bar Harbor, ME; this winter's began with the Keys). Then we see what's going on on the way there and back, choose a few places we like, consider how long we want to spend in each location, and start filling in the blanks. We rarely have a "stopover" that isn't a destination in its own right - like, last spring we journeyed from Panama City Beach to Austin via Biloxi and Galveston, spending a few days in each.

Not every destination has to be some grand tourist mecca. Our month in Burlington, VT was great - just living and enjoying the area, becoming regulars at the coffee place and setting down some (temporary) roots, not runrunrun touring. It's amazing what you find, though, when you go on walkabout. Burlington, for example, is not only a nice small city in its own right, it is also a short drive from Stowe, Montpelier, and several other super cute towns that are worth a day of exploration. I enjoyed that more than Boston.

We are starting to become creatures of habit, though. PCB, for example, is my true love and the campground we stayed at is perfect (Emerald Coast RV Resort), so I want to go back frequently and I want to stay in that campground. My second true love is Gatlinburg, and Camp LeConte where we stayed was so great there's no reason to park anywhere else. There are a few places where I could have done better with lodging - Bar Harbor and Toms River, NJ most notably. But that's one of the reasons I blog about our travels: so you don't make the same mistakes I did, and also so I know better should we decide to go back to that area. Bar Harbor is probably a one and done, but I can see us going back to the Jersey Shore in the future and you better believe we aren't going to be in no Toms River Clarion hotel.
 

lovinmaryland

Well-Known Member
Have you all thought about driving the camper/trailer to Alaska? My uncle retired this summer and they went there for a month. It looked amazing.
 

Bann

Doris Day meets Lady Gaga
PREMO Member
I don't want to have time fly or anything - but I can't WAIT for PCB!! :yahoo:

Also, we'll have to plan to come see you in Gatlinburg, because I've never been there, either. Maybe Grand Canyon, but that would def depend on our vacation time schedules. My food/margarita truck back up plan is looking better everyday, though, so one never knows...
 

vraiblonde

Board Mommy
PREMO Member
Patron
I don't want to have time fly or anything - but I can't WAIT for PCB!! :yahoo:

Also, we'll have to plan to come see you in Gatlinburg, because I've never been there, either. Maybe Grand Canyon, but that would def depend on our vacation time schedules. My food/margarita truck back up plan is looking better everyday, though, so one never knows...

FH is going to have to pry you off the barstool at Sharkey's to get you back home. I swear that will be your happy place! And I know you're going to love the campground - Solomons is a bit rustic, but Emerald Coast is a resort, baybee. I've never seen the inside of the park models, but the rest of the place is so well kept I have to believe they're pretty nice. You and FH can rent bikes and we'll head for St. Andrews Park for a gator ride. We meant to do a dolphin swim last time but didn't get there, so maybe we can do that when you all come.

http://www.waterplanetusa.com/
 

Bann

Doris Day meets Lady Gaga
PREMO Member
FH is going to have to pry you off the barstool at Sharkey's to get you back home. I swear that will be your happy place! And I know you're going to love the campground - Solomons is a bit rustic, but Emerald Coast is a resort, baybee. I've never seen the inside of the park models, but the rest of the place is so well kept I have to believe they're pretty nice. You and FH can rent bikes and we'll head for St. Andrews Park for a gator ride. We meant to do a dolphin swim last time but didn't get there, so maybe we can do that when you all come.

http://www.waterplanetusa.com/
A dolphin swim?! :jameo:

Gator ride?? :yikes:
 

vraiblonde

Board Mommy
PREMO Member
Patron
A dolphin swim?! :jameo:

Gator ride?? :yikes:

touched.jpg
 

SamSpade

Well-Known Member
For now. I'd still like to see Alaska, but it's going to have to be when I can block off a chunk of time off work.

I know you're probably against it but a cruise is an easy way to see Alaska AND they do have wi-fi.
And you can always time your trip so that you STAY in Anchorage afterward for a while.
 

Monello

Smarter than the average bear
PREMO Member
And you can always time your trip so that you STAY in Anchorage afterward for a while.

Best part about Anchorage, it's only 30 minutes from Alaska. I've heard this many times from the locals in the 49th state.
 
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