Here We Go Again

The grand tour is just man's inspired way of traveling home. -Paul Theroux

It's hot...oh so hot...unseasonably hot or so they say. This kind of weather is not supposed to settle on us until well into June or July...that's what they keep telling me. We have finally turned on the air, well, turned it off last night to listen to the thunderstorm and wondering if we can make it through the day (97º) today now that the humidity is low. So I am anxious to hit the road and get back outside and into cooler temps and nature and the outdoors sans air conditioning in the Great North. The sooner we leave we may be able to stay ahead of the rising temperatures in the northern South. 

It's been 7 months since our Southern Sojourn and 15 months since our Wild West trip. We are about to embark on a 12 or so day trip up and around the Gulf Coast as we make our way to Chicago and then another couple of weeks visiting friends and family before we land back in Duluth for the summer. It's a bittersweet trip as we are going to put Heart House up for sale. I am really looking forward to just being on the road, immersing myself in southern hospitality and not thinking too much about the task of selling my beloved perch on the hill.

Along the way we will be shopping for a class B van to replace the Land of Oz. We are both looking forward to the ease of travel (Gerard is not stoked about pulling the trailer anymore and the opportunity to be stealth when needed is intriguing. Also, it needs to be our second vehicle.

Roadtrek Zion- one of the vehicles we are considering

And if I have to give up Heart House, I get to have the rig of my dreams.

Ditching the Tourist Spots and Planning My Own Kickass Trip

I've been spending hours researching our route and places to stay along the way. Ok, I admit, the process is as much fun for me as the actual travel. I devour sites and apps and visually pack the trailer weeks in advance. Our tentative launch date is May 31. We will only travel a few hours to Oscar Sheerer State Park. The next morning we will check out the vehicle pictured above in Nokomis, Florida. We end up spending a lot of time at these dealerships so we won't travel more than 4 hours and land  at Manatee Springs State Park. We may or may not be able to swim with manatees this time, but this will be a chance to check out this area of Florida. In winter, West Indian manatees swim upriver to the warmer waters of the springs. I intend to come back and swim with these gentle giants.

crystal clear water of Manatee Springs

Once we head west around the big bend, the gulf shore road is just spectacular.  I am excited about making a few more stops and exploring the area a little more in depth than we were able on our trip down in December. Traveling by car, Roadtrippers is a great way to plan a vacation so we hit all kinds of awesome landmarks as we go. Just enter your start and end locations, then Roadtrippers shows you roadside attractions, historical sites, and more. They also have a Kinja blog that includes all kinds of ideas for themed vacationsset and of guides if you need some inspiration. If you're struggling to come up with a vacation plan in general, Roadtrippers is a good place to brainstorm for ideas like a Dixieland tour,a tour of Oregon, or even an abandoned theme park vacation. 

I'm a fan of more offbeat locales, so Atlas Obscura is a premiere travel guide. Its main goal is to catalog the weird and wonderful landmarks across the world and it's an excellent resource for finding interesting things to do. Just type in the city you're visiting and you'll get a list of weird places to visit. A phone booth in Carabelle, Florida is alleged to be the "World's Smallest Police Station!  As you bore witness on our Route 66 trip we were enthralled with everything that was the "World's biggest, smallest, weirdest". While I don't want to over plan and we are never on an unbreakable schedule, it's still a good idea to make a loose itinerary. We intend to spend 3 or 4 days along the Gulf Shore of the Florida Panhandle before reaching New Orleans. 

Carabelle Beach

Gerard has never been to NoLa. I am excited about showing him my favorite haunts- Cafe Du Monde, watching street entertainers in the French Quarter and acquiring some soul food.

Heading north we will meander along the Mississippi until we land in St. Louis, where we hope to check out a couple more camper vans. 

Not sure if we will make a beeline for Chicago or break that drive up, but along the way, whenever we can connect to WiFi, I will do my best to make new posts. I hope you will enjoy traveling with us. Would love it if you would follow the blog and make comments. They are always an inspiration.  See you on the road.