After Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas we left on New Year’s eve for four weeks in Indian Shores, Florida! We packed up our dog, some clothes, and left. We split the drive into two days. We stayed in Columbia, South Carolina at a pet friendly hotel.
Matilda in the back seat and on our way!
We arrived in Indian Shores and our VRBO accommodations around dinner time. Our place was on the second floor and our balcony faced the Gulf of Mexico. After the car was unloaded we enjoyed our first sunset!
our place
Our days were spent exploring the area, sitting and reading on the beach, and walks on the beach, and enjoying the sunshine. Matilda, our dog, enjoyed her walks along the sidewalks. Pets were not allowed on the beach! Matilda didn’t mind as long as she got at least 3 walks a day. We’ve included some of the highlights during our stay!
If we went out to dinner we tried to find restaurants with patios that allowed dogs. One restaurant was Caddy’s. Dave said the seafood was delicious.
It was another beautiful sunset!
Matilda was not interested! 🙂
Some of the area was still recovering from Hurricane Helene which hit this area in late September, 2025 as a category 4! Next to us the damage was visible. We saw homes and small hotels that are still uninhabitable, as well as empty lots where only the foundations were left and businesses that didn’t survive.
There were two pools here and now sand completely filled them in! You can still see the fences that were torn loose and scattered.
We took Matilda to a dog friendly park, Sand Key Park and walked along the paths. She enjoyed that adventure.
You can’t beat the sunsets!
A beautiful sunset and a glass of wine!
On one of our walks we stopped and saw the monument that honored the indigenous residents, the Tocobaga Indians, of the town. The sculpture showed a Tocobaga Indian fisherman with two other family members and a baby.
When enjoying a day at the beach you never know what you might see. It was different seeing a floating billboard when we looked up from our reading! Another day wedding pictures being taken!
Picture taking
Many days the beach was ours with not another person around!
While we were enjoying a beautiful sunset during our last week in Florida, central Ohio was getting 12″ of snow!
We had a few days in between helping to care for our granddaughter in Virginia so we booked a condo through VRBO that was located oceanfront on Amelia Island. It was great to have warm weather and the sun shining in February! There was snow at home so we enjoyed the temperature in the 70s!
Our first full day we drove to the north end to visit Fort Clinch. The drive to the fort took us along the historic Canopy Road that was covered with oak trees and Spanish moss.
Beginning of the canopy roadDriving along the canopy road
After the serene drive along the canopy road we arrived at Fort Clinch, 1847-1945. The fort was never completely finished. When the Civil War began the fort was under control by the Confederates. Then as the Union started to gain control of the coast of Georgia, General Robert E. Lee ordered the evacuation of the fort and Union troops arrived in March, 1862. It is now a Florida state park and is open to visitors. We enjoyed wandering around the fort.
After visiting the fort we drove over to see the Amelia Island Lighthouse. It is the oldest existing lighthouse in Florida. In 2001 the Coast Guard turned over the lighthouse to the City of Fernandina Beach. It is the westernmost lighthouse located along the east coast of the US and about a mile from the Atlantic Ocean. It is located within a residential neighborhood and sits on the highest point on the island.
On our way to the lighthouse we stopped at the Salt Marsh.
Salt Marsh
Looking across the Salt Marsh at the lighthouse
Amelia Island Lighthouse
After our morning exploration we spent the afternoon by the ocean at our condo.
Our second full day at Fernandina Beach was gorgeous weather so we spent most of the day enjoying the warmth of the sun and catching up on our reading!
We also had company as we were reading!
Day 3 was another warm and sunny day. The sunrise was beautiful! We read by the ocean in the morning and spent the afternoon walking around the historic downtown of Fernandina.
Sunrise from our condo patio.
Fernandina Beach historic waterfront city is considered downtown which encompasses over 50 blocks that are on the register of historic places. It was fun to walk around the area.
Enjoying a “beverage” at the Palace saloon!
Today we left the warmth of Florida and headed back to Virginia!
This third trip in the RV is to help the kids move from Florida to Virginia and a theme of 2 hour delays!!! The RV would be where we slept, ate our meals, and the best transportation for our granddaughter and their not one, not two, but three cats!
Our plan was to begin our drive from Ohio to Florida mid to late morning. W-e-l-l, that did not happen. You see when we were packed and ready to head out the RV equalizer system would not retract the levelers! Every light was blinking and we didn’t know why. We were reading the manual, which by the way was useless. Dave is calling the repair department where we bought the RV and I’m googling why won’t the equalizer system work?
One of the equalizer levelers that wouldn’t retract and therefore making us immobile!
To make a long story short as I’m sure you get the idea of the frustration, Dave finally talked to one of the mechanics who helped him locate the reset switch. Once that was found, the equalizer lifted the levelers. Of course, this cost us 2 hours of drive time. 😩
The drive for the rest of the day thank goodness was uneventful!
We stopped for the night at the South Carolina Welcome Center rest area. We tried to get a decent night’s sleep.
We were on the road early Thursday morning and we were making good time. We were just outside Jacksonville, Florida when a pick up truck pulled up beside us and motioned for Dave to put down his window. He said we had a flat tire and needed to pull over immediately. Dave did and we were on a slight slant so we couldn’t tell which tire was flat. We got off the highway at the next stop and saw that it was the back inside tire that was very low! Dave asked at the truck stop repair center if they could fix the tire and it is too small of a tire for them and they sent us to an auto shop across the street. We go there and they don’t repair RV tires! They gave us the name and address of an RV repair shop that was a couple of exits farther down and wasn’t out of our way. This guy doesn’t do tires but he did put air in the tire and after losing about 2 hours we are on our way again. He suggested we check the pressure of that tire when we get to our stop this evening.
Tonight we are staying at an RV park that is about half an hour from the kids house. We get set up and our son picks us up and we head to their place to help finish the last bit of packing that we can and have some dinner together. The moving company had left earlier in the day with all of their furniture and boxes.
A very empty room except for one of the cats!
On Friday morning we are up early to check out of the RV park and head to the kids house. We park the RV out front while the kids head to close on the sell of their home. We babysit the baby and also help load what still needs to go into the cars and RV. Everything is loaded including the 3 cats who are closed off in the back part of the RV where they would be safe.
By late morning we are on the road. The RV is the leader, then I’m following driving one of their cars which is completely full except for the driver’s seat and Ryan’s taking up the rear driving his car which is completely packed and pulling a small U-Haul trailer. We are definitely quite the sight heading North. Our plan is to drive until 8:30 PM, pull in to the nearest rest area, have dinner, relax and get some sleep!
You know how the best laid plans work out. As I’m following the RV, I notice that the tire that was low yesterday looks very low. When we stop for gas and lunch, Dave checks the pressure and it is flat no air at all. So we have to call and get the warranty service to get a mobile service there to pull off the flat tire and put on the spare. When the tire change was finished we were ready to get on the road again. The kids did a cat check and the youngest of the cats, Stella, couldn’t be found. We are all searching for her. Well, after quite a while, she was located and our daughter-in-law, Amy, was small enough to grab her and pull her out of the tight corner she had pushed herself into. There is a little opening under the bedside built in and she had squeezed herself into that space. What a scary moment for all of us. The cat was fine but panting!
Stella
Again we lost at least 2 hours sitting in the RV waiting to get the tire replaced and locating the missing cat! Thank heavens, the man who was sent was quick and did a great job and the cat rescued. At least there weren’t any accidents or construction closures to slow us down.
Saturday morning we are up and ready to go and on time. We made sure all of the cats are in the front of the camper so we can pull in the back bedroom slide. Next is to bring in the “living area” slide. We check for all 3 cats to move them to the back and one is missing, Luna! Oh no, not again! We are searching high and low. She is nowhere to be found. Our granddaughter is enjoying a break from her car seat
Our best guess is that she climbed somewhere under the bed through an opening where the slide goes in and out! Dave and our son, Ryan, take the bed apart and still don’t see the cat. Ryan takes his phone and reaches as far as he can where the water tank is located below the top of the bed area and we can’t remove it. With his phone he is stretching his arm under there and snapping pictures. A photo shows her stuffed up in by the boards and the water tank! Now they are trying to coax her out! Again after much effort they grab her.
Luna
We can now tell you where every crevice is that a silly cat could climb into! They proceeded to stuff towels, boxes, and anything they can to block where a cat could get trapped again! Needless to say we had planned to leave by 7:30 and it was about 9:30 before all of the cats were safe and our caravan began to head to our final destination of Ohio, another 2 hour delay! The rest of the day was uneventful. Whew!
Sunset in Ohio! We’re almost home.
Everyone was going to stay with us until midweek when we would caravan to their new location in Virginia. What will happen on our next adventure?????
Meet our new mode of travel purchased during the Covid-19 pandemic when our international travel came to a complete halt!
MISS DAISY
We knew that eventually we wanted to travel the USA in a motorhome but it was further away for us. Well, circumstances changed. The pandemic hit and our youngest son took a new job in Virginia and they currently live in southeast Florida. They have a newborn and were trying to figure out how they both could safely look for a new home and do some exploration of their new city! Well, “Miss Daisy” our class C, 33 foot Gulfstream Conquest came to the rescue! She became ours the first week in May!
Our first adventure with our new mode of transportation was to travel from Ohio to SE Florida, Newport News, Va, back down to Florida, and then home the third week of May! We really learned quickly what we needed for traveling in the RV, what was working properly and needed fixed. On our way to Florida it was the two of us with our rescue dog Matilda. She was quite nervous when the RV was moving. When we made it to the Ft. Lauderdale area we picked up our newest granddaughter and her parents for a trip to Virginia! Now it was 4 adults, a 7- week old baby, and our 15 pound dog.
We camped at the beautiful Newport News State Park!
It was perfect for keeping safe. We prepared and ate all of our meals in the camper or at our campsite. We watched the baby while the kids wore their masks and looked for a new home!
