We Made It!

Bob and I spent our last two days on the road, running ahead of, then waiting out, and dodging storms. We drove out of Knoxville early as the rain started, and stayed ahead of the storm all day.  It was a doosey - Knoxville got 5+ inches in 24 hours! 

We spent the night at a nice little RV park just north of Valdosta, GA. We had been passing fields of cotton during the trip and hoping we could pick some.  Luckily, just down the road from the RV park was a small field of cotton. This was the first time either of us had seen cotton growing up-close so we stopped and picked a few balls. It feels just like cotton except it has hard seeds in it. The plants also have flowering blossoms.

That evening we had dinner at Cheddars, a new favorite restaurant of ours. They have great food at even greater prices. Check and see if there is a location near you!

The next morning, there were HUGE storms approaching with high winds, thunder and lightening, so we hunkered down with the weather channel and waited for most of it to pass. It was a good decision as they lost power in parts of Valdosta just south of us, and we didn’t get much wind or heavy rain where we were.

We drove into Florida just before noon yesterday and stopped at the big welcome center for some free juice and brochures. What a great place. Bob and I both agree that I-75 is one of the best highways in the nation. The section from southern Georgia all the way to Tampa is in great shape, and they have nice rest areas in Florida about every 30 miles. Bob sampled a lot of the vending machines.

Lake in the RV park

We are getting settled into our new RV park in Bradenton, just north of Sarasota. We’ve got a shady spot and the neighbors seem nice. It’s still a little quiet around here as most people are gone until winter when it will be totally full. I enjoyed walking around the RV park’s lake today and checking out the birds. This evening we went to the beach for sunset and then celebrated with Bang Bang shrimp and drinks at Bonefish Grill – another favorite eatery. There are a few around the country.

Bob on the beach

Mary in the waves

Tomorrow Bob and I will celebrate our 4^th wedding anniversary in our new state. It’s exciting to be starting this new phase together. The next several months will be filled with researching neighborhoods, searching for houses, squeezing in some fun times at the beach, and maybe even working.  We have a one-year lease at the RV park, so we don’t have to rush. We will continue to post any blog-worthy news. Bye for now………