Winter Escape 2023

    The 2023 Winter Escape is underway.  On January 14th, after spending the morning in Manhattan at the funeral of a good friend, we left Lawrence with our RV and a car for Florida.  
Our first stop was at the Thomas’ home in Siloam Springs.  We had dinner with Jason, Liberty and LaRee.  Abbey was at a reading retreat and Isaiah was spending the weekend with his other grandparents.  Liberty also opened her birthday presents early – as we’ll be in Florida for her 7th birthday.  On Sunday the 15th, after breakfast, we left Siloam Springs in the midst of strong winds heading south on I-49 for our KOA site in Texarkana, TX, getting in just before dark.  For dinner we tried – one more time, What-A-Burger, and I’m still not a fan.

    We left early morning on the 16th for Robert, LA (just north of New Orleans) to spend a day in NOLA continuing south on I-49 to Baton Rouge, LA and then going east on I-10.  Getting to the RV park mid-afternoon in Robert, LA, found that we had a low tire on the RV.  We found a tire dealer (Robert Tire) – who couldn’t repair the tire because it was a commercial tire size but referred us to another commercial tire guy who would repair it the next day.  We went to Middendorf’s Seafood in Aker’s, LA for dinner and were disappointed to find that it was closed on Monday and Tuesdays – the two days that we were going to be there.  As a backup, we found Don’s Seafood in Hammond LA on-line with good reviews and had our first seafood of the trip.  It was worth it.

    Dropped the RV off early on the 17th and went to New Orleans looking for some antiques for our Arkansas Airbnb – with little luck.  It was a good day, but it wasn’t as productive as we had hoped.  Got back to the tire guy and the tire was fixed but…. we made the decision, since we were early in a 7-week journey to replace the six tires.  We had received advice from 2 different tire shops indicating that our tires were at the end of their shelf life and…. The tire guy could accomplish the replacement on the 18th.  We left the RV for the night and found a Hampton Inn in Covington for the night, getting their last available room.  We looked at options in the area for dinner, but decided on Don’s Seafood in Covington for another amazing seafood dinner, the 2nd in two nights.

    Spent the morning of the 18th doing some shopping around Covington finding some great quilt and antique stores.   Stopped for a quick lunch and got the call at noon, that the tires were replaced and the RV was ready to go.  We quickly picked up the RV and began to make our way over to  Rocky Bayou State Park - Niceville, FL (across the bay from Desting, FL).  Just outside of Mobile, AL we made a stop at Buc-ee’s on I-10.  If you’ve been, you know.  If you haven’t been, you need to go.  There’s nothing else like it.

    Leaving New Orleans/Covington LA late put us behind on our way to Niceville.  It was again a windy trip on I-10 with a God moment - slow moving traffic on the Mobile and Pensacola bridges.  If you’ve been on I-10 going across the Mobile or Pensacola bridges with a strong cross wind you know it’s not an easy drive with a high-profile vehicle.  The slow-moving traffic made crossing these bridges much easier.  Getting into Rocky Bayou – a Florida State Park in the dark was a bit of a challenge.  There are lots of trees and very little lighting and the mirrors on the RV gave no help in backing into the site.  All was accomplished and it was the end of another night on the 2023 Winter Escape.

    The next two days were spent at “the Quilter’s Pace” in Crestview, FL learning the ins and outs of long-arm quilting.  Jean & Dawn, shop owners, were amazing instructors and the charm of their little shop is worth the time.  For dinner on Thursday night we made the trip to Destin and ate at the Shrimp Basket, a past favorite, though not so much this time.  On Friday night, on a recommendation from Dawn at the Quilter’s Place – we went to Stewby’s in Crestview for seafood platters.  It was good but some of the sides were less than satisfactory as we ate an early dinner and there was yet to be high traffic.

    We left early on the 21st for another run east on I-10 & south on I-75 heading to  Champions Run RV in Ocala, FL.  We made stops on the way at Webb’s Antique Mall in Lake City and at Ocala Antiques and Estates for some antique looking for Airbnb items.  Then it was back to the RV park to watch the Kansas City Chiefs win their AFC Division game against the Jacksonville Jaguars 27-20.  We are spending a couple of days in Ocala before moving farther south.

    Sunday, the 22nd we went to Saint Paul’s UMC for worship.  It was a great church with the church over ½ full.  The choir was great and had an amazing deaf interpreter (DI) for the choir’s anthem.  Sermon was on point, though his delivery was a bit lacking.  Sunday afternoon was laid back and the evening was spent watching some football.  Winter Escape 2023 is a good thing.