I’ve had many people ask about my favorite place and the answer is always the same.
There is no place else on earth I love more than my little peace of paradise here in coastal Georgia. This is where our children grew up and where Henry and I are growing old together. I have the best friends and neighbors anyone could ask for and there is beauty every where I look.
Sunrise over the Atlantic OceanFull moon rising over the Atlantic OceanSunset over the Salt MarshSalt Marsh of Coastal Georgia
Want to go to an uninhabited barrier island? A boat or kayak will get you there.
Boat ride on one of the many creeksUninhabited Georgia Barrier IslandWe often are the only people on one of the uninhabited barrier islands
Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphins are a common sight in the waters.
Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphin near Tybee Island, Georgia
Let’s not forget the birds.
Roseate Spoonbill fishing in Georgia tidal creekOspreyGreat EgretJuvenile IbisWood Stork and EgretMale Painted Bunting
Whether you cook it at home or eat out at one of the many great restaurants nearby, there’s nothing better than eating fresh caught seafood.
Fresh Georgia Blue Crabs straight from the creek to the pot.
I love to travel and always enjoy our wanderings. Every trip ends the same way. I know I am almost home when I start smelling the salt marsh and seeing the creeks and marsh as we drive the last few miles.
No matter where you may roam, the best part is coming home – anonymous
Welcome to the next post in my series highlighting states we have visited throughout the years. I hope you will enjoy coming along for the ride!
I will be featuring the states alphabetically. The next state in my series is
Ohio
Ohio became the 17th state on March 1, 1803. The capital is Columbus.
Before our RV days, we made two trips to Ohio to attend family weddings. The first time was to Dayton in 1980. The next time was a St. Patrick’s Day weekend trip to Cleveland. We left home with the sun shining and azaleas blooming. In Cleveland, we were freezing as we gazed at the ice on Lake Erie.
Ice on Lake Erie in Cleveland
Our RV travels have taken us through Ohio a few times. We discovered Sun Valley RV Park in Chilicothe on one of those trips. This peaceful RV park is off the beaten path and a perfect overnight stop for weary travelers. We enjoyed it so much we returned a few years later when our route took us that way again.
Quiet and peaceful campground in ChilicotheBlondie enjoyed the grassy campsite in ChilicotheSunset in Chillicothe
On one trip our journey took us through the Amish country around Mt. Eaton. We discovered Evergreen RV Park, another gem of a park perfect for an overnight stop. I had read reviews of this park which raved about the cleanest and nicest RV park bath house they had ever seen. How could we pass that up? Even better still, there was an indoor pool onsite so after a swim I tried out the bath house and the reviews were right on the money!
We did a little shopping in an Amish store near the RV park. I stocked up on Amish goodies and I was a happy camper!
Beautiful indoor pool at Evergreen RV ParkEvergreen RV Park in Mt. Eaton was surrounded by Amish countryPasture next to Evergreen RV Park in Mt. Eaton
We had just returned home from our fall football road trip when three days later we evacuated for Hurricane Matthew. This post has been on hold ever since.
If you follow SEC college football you know that our favorite team, the Georgia Bulldogs, are not having a good year. That’s all I have to say about that.
I have to say that except for the game on September 24, we had a great time in Oxford during the weekend of the Georgia – Ole Miss football game. The people of Oxford were gracious, the Ole Miss fans friendly, and the atmosphere in town on Friday and as we wandered through the Grove on Saturday before the game was like no college football game I’ve ever attended.
Our home for the weekend was John W. Kyle State Park on Sardis Lake, about a 30 minute drive from downtown Oxford. All through the campground were RV’s displaying their team colors. We didn’t spend much time in the campground but I was able to get a sunset picture over the lake on the first night.
Sunset over Sardis Lake
Friends of ours were staying in Oxford within walking distance of downtown and the stadium. We met them Friday afternoon to browse the shops around the courthouse square and have a fabulous lunch at City Grocery. As we were enjoying our meal we noticed not one but four James Beard Awards on the wall! The food, service, and company were all excellent.
City Grocery on the square in Oxford, MississippiCity Grocery on the square in Oxford, MississippiTwo of the Four James Beard Awards at City Grocery
Kickoff was set for 11:00 a.m. on Saturday so we left the campground early in hopes of beating the traffic. We planned it perfectly and met our friends in time to eat a quick breakfast before heading to the Grove.
The Grove is a large area in the middle of the University of Mississippi campus. On game days it is transformed to a sea of tailgate tents lined up side by side with fans from both teams walking elbow to elbow on the pathways between the tents.
Tailgating Tents as far as the eye could seeFans from both teams were tailgating side by sideThe Ole Miss band marched by before the gameGeorgia and Ole Miss Fans in the Grove before the game
Did I mention it was HOT the whole time we were there? The temperature was in the upper nineties on Friday afternoon and all day Saturday.
If your favorite college football team ever plays against Ole Miss in Oxford, get some tickets and go! It’s a one of a kind experience. And hopefully, your team will do better against them than my team did. And I hope I never hear the Ole Miss Hotty Toddy cheer ever again!
Two years ago we traveled through the Mississippi Delta area of Arkansas and fell in love with the area. So naturally when we began planning our trip to Oxford we decided to cross the Mississippi River into Arkansas and return to two of the places we enjoyed back then. When we told our friends we were going to Mississippi by way of Arkansas they looked at us like we were crazy.
Our first stop in Arkansas was Lake Chicot State Park. I posted about our first visit here. After a long day driving through part of Alabama and all across the state of Mississippi, we crossed the Mississippi River into Arkansas and arrived at the campground hot and tired.
Lake Chicot State Park Site 7
We got set up in time to watch a beautiful sunset over Lake Chicot.
Sunset over Lake Chicot
The lake was beautiful in the early mornings.
Morning on the fishing dock
Lake Chicot is the largest natural lake in Arkansas and the largest natural oxbow lake in the United States. It is a popular fishing destination and many varieties of birds can be seen here.
Egret on the fishing dockCypress trees at Lake ChicotCypress trees at Lake ChicotCypress trees at Lake Chicot
On our first visit here we had our first taste of delicious Mississippi Delta hot tamales so of course getting some more was on the top of our to do list. One day we took a drive back across the Mississippi River to Greenville, Mississippi to pick up three dozen hot tamales to go from Doe’s Eat Place. We were in heaven as we ate some of those spicy tamales for dinner. The rest are in our freezer to take home. I posted about our first visit to Doe’s Eat Place here.
Doe’s Eat Place in Greenville, MississippiThree dozen Mississippi Delta hot tamales
One day we took a self guided driving tour along the levee which runs along the Mississippi River to protect the area from flooding. A gravel road runs on top of the levee and the scenery changes from borrow pits to farms to woods as you go along.
Egrets flocked to the trees beside the borrow pitsBorrow Pit beside the leveeCattle with Cattle Egrets beside the leveeCattle with Cattle Egrets beside the levee
Cotton is the number one crop in this part of the Mississippi Delta and we passed many fields on both sides of the river. Soybeans and sorghum are also big crops in the area.
Fields of cotton as far as the eye can seeCotton is the number one crop in the Mississippi DeltaCotton Bolls
Next up: A return to another favorite Arkansas State Park in the Mississippi Delta with some scenic drives, a museum, and award winning barbecue.
What an amazing ten years! Each marker on this map represents a place where we camped in our RV.
Ten years ago, on July 1, 2006, we spent our first night in an RV park in Tampa, Florida. Two weeks later we left Georgia with no reservations anywhere and a bucket list of what we wanted to see. You can see highlights of that trip at Looking Back on our First RV Trip. Last year I posted a few of our most memorable experiences from our first nine years at Celebrating Nine Years of RVing.
Many of our trips revolved around either visiting family or attending a special event such as a wedding or Titanium Rally. Sometimes we traveled just for the fun of seeing new places. No matter where we were going, we always took the long way around to get there.
We discovered beauty in every state and province we visited. Sometimes the everyday things were the best.
I love watching the changing landscape and seeing the many farms and ranches.
I love seeing the farms as we drive alongWe always enjoy seeing lighthouses.
Split Rock Lighthouse on Minnesota’s North ShoreSeeing wildlife is always a treat.
Black Bear beside the road in British ColumbiaAnd of course we loved visiting many of our National Parks.
Yosemite Valley from Tunnel View OverlookSometimes we enjoyed watching the sunset from our campsite.
Mount Redoubt sunset in Ninilchik, AlaskaWe did a few amazing hikes.
At the Summit of Enchanted Rock in TexasChilling by a camp fire is always fun.
Enjoying the campfireNow that we have ten years of RV’ing under our belt, our priorities have changed. Of course, we are ten years older and it is more difficult to make long trips. When we started our wandering, we only had two grandchildren. Now we have four and we want to spend as much time with them as we can. Going on long trips takes us away from them for too long.
Our wandering days are not over. There are still many places we haven’t seen in and near our home state of Georgia so from now on we will travel a little closer to home.
Wandering Dawgs 