Sebastian Inlet SP
As we finish up the year and our first 6 months on the road full time, I'm amazed how quickly it went and how easy we fit in to this lifestyle. We left Placerville, CA on June 28 and have traveled about 10,000 miles through 28 states. 20 of those we camped in. We've stayed mostly at State Parks, County Parks, a couple KOAs and some Federal Parks. We spent about $25 on average. We boon/moochdocked about 30 days. Longest stays were 3 weeks. Most of the time that included just water & electric, a few times with sewer and some times with nothing. Hottest temp was 104 in Salt Lake City in July, coldest was in Northern New Hampshire at 19 in October. We are finishing up our time in Florida and will be heading back to CA for the month of May to visit our kids and family driving along the gulf states. Camping was very expensive in Florida and as we travel back west, we expect our camping fees to drop a lot. There will be more boondocking which will take that down even more. The truck and trailer have been awesome! No problems or surprises with either. Wouldn't change a thing!
Things we've been surprised about or learned so far:
- Internet has been surprisingly great. Only once, in Yellowstone, was the internet tricky. (Thank you Technomadia for the Coverage App)
- Avoiding low bridges, low overpasses and toll roads hasn't been that difficult.
- Steve has become a real pro at backing into some very tight spots.
- How well we work together navigating/driving.
- How easy it is to stay social on the road. We've met great people and been able to visit family and friends that live far away.
- Planning around different weather in different parts of the country hasn't been that hard (so far).
- How much we love free camping (boondocking).
- How much work keeping up a blog can be ;-)
And the most important:
- How this lifestyle suits us perfectly! (except missing our kids and family)
- Hurley (the dog) has adjusted very well and loves it too!
Sebastian Inlet, FL
Sebastian Inlet State Park
We weren't in Sebastian Inlet for very long, but we had a nice time kayaking. Before we headed out we took Hurley for a long walk. He seemed very interested in the Horseshoe crab shells that were near the beach.
Time to get out on the water.
Oh no, it's not a shark is it? Nope, it's a dolphin! There was a small group of them swimming around in the harbor at the campground. It was very hard to get a good picture of them. We never did get one of their faces.
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| At one point they came pretty close. About 30 ft away. |
There was a momma with its young following right behind.
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| A view of the harbor from our back window. |
We also drove around the area and I liked this "albino" palm. I haven't seen one like this before. There was a guy with several peacocks next door. Not sure what the neighbors think about it.
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| Enjoyed the nice Christmas lights and decorations nearby. |
We had a nice Christmas dinner at the Sand Bar. We have to admit that as nice as the place was and the food was great, we really missed spending it with our kids. First time in 27 years we weren't together. A raccoon did stop by outside our window to try to cheer us up. (didn't get a photo though).
Looking forward to more great times!!
Time does fly! In the three years we've been on the road, we've gone home for Christmas. Next year may be different. We have also met the nicest people.
ReplyDeleteWe plan to be home for Thanksgiving/Christmas for a while and winter in AZ/TX rather than FL for the upcoming years. Definitely enjoy meeting other great folks out here and surprised at how many are also fulltime.
DeleteCongratulations on your 6 months! 28 states is crazy! As you know from reading the blogs of others, life on the road is not for everyone but you and Steve seem perfectly suited for the lifestyle. Safe travels on westward travels. We are boondocking in Arizona, if you need any locations let us know.
ReplyDeleteOur schedule pretty much set it self with having to be in certain states to attend a rally, meet up with family and friends and making sure the weather worked into that. Our goal was to have Christmas in the Keys. Once we're in AZ for the month of April, we expect to spend more like 2 - 4 weeks at a time in one place. But who knows, I get restless. Maybe weekly moves, but in a tighter area. I'd like to at least be in one state for at least a month to feel like I'm getting my moneys worth for those out-of-state fishing licenses! Steve's Dad and some of our friends live in AZ, so we'll be by them most of the time, but I do want to get some good boondocking ideas for the area as well as we'll be spending a lot of time there.
DeleteWow, that was quick. Great wrap-up, and very encouraging to hear how well you've adapted and all the positive things you've learned. You'll be back here a little before we launch, maybe we'll get a chance to meet up if you'll be in the West for a couple months :-) Funny, I saw my first albino palm just last week too! Love the seahorse sculpture and being that close to the dolphins was wonderful :-)
ReplyDeleteI know we'll meet up at some point. I don't know the real name of that palm, but it was pretty. The dolphins were a great surprise! You need to post some pictures of your new home!
DeleteOnce we take possession you're going to be so sick of seeing it!
DeleteCongratulations on 6 month of great fulltiming travels. We hope to start fulltiming next year. May you continue on for many years :)
ReplyDeleteThank you Kevin & Janet. Sounds like you will be out on the road before you know it. I stopped by your site for a bit. You have very nice pictures. We hope to visit some of the places you've been at the deserts.
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ReplyDeleteYou have really put some miles on in your first six months, but that is what most new fulltimers do. I used to go crazy if we stayed in one place for over three nights, but as the months wore on I relaxed and realized we didn't have to rush to see everything as fast as we could. I think everyone figures out what is right for them as they go along. Glad to hear you are enjoying this lifestyle. Hope to meet up one of these days.
ReplyDeleteWe've been lucky enough to have lived on both coasts and since we've both camped as kids and with our own kids, we've been to almost every state already. It's nice getting to do things that just interest us and not have to worry about planning for kids! We look to a smaller footprint next year though as I really miss the hiking out west! Happy New Year to you both!
DeleteSounds like you have done a lot of things right to have had so few problems in your 6 months. Would love to know about your internet provider and contract if you've had no problems anywhere but Yellowstone, even boondocking. Florida is expensive unless you stay in a commerical park for a month or are an Old Foggie and get half off at the Federal Parks and at the State Parks if you are a Florida Resident. We did over 10K miles this year and thought that was way too much. But we say that every year. Really sorry we missed you this winter in Florida if you won't be returning. You've been everywhere we go just not when we were there unfortunately. I'll be anxious to know where you go to be warm in the winter in future. The Texas folks always say it's cold and so do the Arizonans. I guess the California desert folks are warm. LOL Happy 2015 to you!
ReplyDeleteHa, Lucky I guess. We use Verizon MiFi and we have both Verizon & AT&T cell phones Steve's work pays for our internet and his cell and I get a discount. In Yellowstone, we stayed at a federal park that was just outside of W. Yellowstone. When he had some very important calls/computer work he had to drive 4 miles back towards W. Yell to get good enough service. Not sure where we'll winter in the future. Steve's Dad lives in AZ, so we'll try that or TX next year.
DeleteCongratulations on 6 months of full timing. Great review of your learning curve. Wow...you have been on the move. Looking forward to making some moves ourselves in March. Starting off at Kartchner Caverns SP the first week of March. Tomorrow we begin our planning for the spring and summer. Got to get the new year started off right. Thank you for the email replies...they have been very helpful.
ReplyDeleteI think you'll enjoy the caverns. They are very different and they take very good care of them. Looking forward to returning and staying in the campground this time.
ReplyDeleteSounds like your first six months were a success:) As Gayle mentioned, we all tend to travel more and stay shorter amounts of time when we first hit the road. We have now been on the road for four and half years. We look forward to spending at least two weeks to a month in a new place. We had to remember to "live" and not just be tourists:)
ReplyDeleteBeing away from family is by far the hardest part of this lifestyle. Luckily, we don't have grandchildren and our daughter loves traveling to see us. Our son is a pilot so he is able to get to see us a little easier. My mother, however, is the problem. While she is very able to fly and visit (and she loves it), she lives in nowhereville in northern NY and it is hard to get her out to visit on the west coast without a 13 hour day. Last winter we tried to get her to FL and all three times snow cancelled the visit. Oh, well! We do what we can.
We'll watch as you move back west. Who knows maybe we'll be in the same area. I see you are following our gang of blogs:) So many great people out there!
Thanks John & Pam. We are loving it! We do look forward to more 2 week to 1 month stays. Once back west, even if we move as often, it will probably just be to a nearby park in the same area so that I have new trails to hike. Maybe we will end up nearby and we'll say Hello!
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