The A1A and Beyond Part II

If you are reading this right now, you have probably seen that we’ve been busy with something pretty special – that’s right: Flip Fit! Consuming my available time over the past three months (which was pretty much when the kids and Leah were tucked in for the night), has been the completion of design, production arrangements, website overhaul, and Kickstarter campaign launch. Super exciting stuff for us! I will be sharing special inside looks at what it took to produce the “Fun Family Fitness Game” through additional blog posts in the near future. Until then, click around on our website and visit the Kickstarter Campaign to learn a bit more. And now- buckle up…we’re about to go on a “catch-up” ride of the past four months!

My last article (and you really should check our Part I click here prior to reading this) concluded with our family heading to the most southern latitude we have visited in our RV to date, Key Largo, FL on February 13th. Yup, that’s right, we were able to stay in Key Largo for five nights at the highly coveted John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, during the busy season, having scheduled it only weeks prior – BA-POW – Leah magic! We knew our time in the keys was going to be some awesome saltwater fun, but we had no idea how quickly we would meet and become friends with other full-time families during our stay.

You might recall that during our Michigan trip last year we had the chance to meet a neat family with a very successful YouTube channel “Less Junk More Journey” that taught us so much about RV living. Well it just so happened we were going to be staying at John Pennekamp the same time so we planned a chartered snorkel trip together on Feb 14th. Don’t worry ladies, I had Valentines Day covered…although I can’t even remember what I got for Leah, Fisher and I made heart shaped pancakes that morning before our snorkel adventure. So snorkeling in the Keys – magical right? And with new friends! Awesome…well, despite Leah’s best efforts to compare different services and rates, we were packed onto a boat with 40 other people to set out on water that was just under the threshold of waves too high to take the trip. Between the two families, we quickly had two seasick moms, and four children under 8 not understanding how to manage their wetsuits, snorkels, and quite frankly, what we were even doing!

That’s about all I was able to capture trying to snorkel on swells with a bunch of kids and two seasick moms!

Into the ocean we go!! Our family did fairly well – I’ve come to learn that despite the challenges my kids present, because they are kids, they are really brave! With no exposure to open water snorkeling, we were able to regain composure, and actually swim for a bit in the water. I really felt I connected with Faith by talking her through the challenges of remaining calm, and handling the 2-3 foot swells that were pushing us around like driftwood! And we saw a couple fish, then got on the boat. That was about it. When I look at what we paid for, it was certainly not worth it that day. However, what I came away with as a father, and the pride I felt watching my kids overcome an adverse situation, it was totally worth it. A lot of life is that way, isn’t it?

You can check out Nathan and Marissa’s YouTube episode of that excursion here: Myth Busting RVing in the Florida Keys

After that failed/not-failed, excursion, we really enjoyed the rest of our time in the keys. As I said, we met some fantastic families while there. With kids all around the same age, we were able to laugh and play in the sandy inlets, snorkel some more (and what we saw was way more impressive than off the boat including a school of huge terrapin, manatee, and tropical fish), collect jellies, and chase iguanas. One of the evenings we were able to gather five full-time families, including our own, for a pitch-in style poke bowl feast. Our trip in the keys was topped off with fresh lobster handpicked from the local fish market. I actually made it in the instant pot- there’s nothing that thing can’t do well!

Isn’t it awesome how quickly kids can become friends?

Cool and yummy wildlife! Maybe just the lobster was yummy!

Our next stop after the keys was Sabastian Inlet State Park from 2/18-2/21. The magic there was found while paddle boarding in the inlet next to dolphins! A few times, the dolphins actually chased schools of fish right under our board! We also enjoyed feeling the power of some large waves crashing on the beach during a red-flag warning, saw someone catch a bonnet head shark off shore, and enjoyed some wonderful sunsets while at Sabastian Inlet.

Now cruising up the A1A (I still couldn’t escape Leah’s singing!) Florida’s east coast, we stopped for two nights at Manatee Hammock County Park with the sole purpose of spending a full day at the Kennedy Space Center. This was fantastic! Many times over I have become lost on starry nights while camping contemplating the vastness of space and God’s universe, and to see the story, equipment, and intelligence behind actually exploring a small portion of it was a blast. This also coincided nicely with the successful landing of the rover on mars. Although the kids enjoyed fooling around the very well-designed interactive kid center the most, I think at least Faith took away a new appreciation of space and its exploration.

I thought the saying was “get your head out of your…” Once you see it, you’ll laugh.

Even though I was wowed by the bravery and engineering of space, I could not shake the fact that shark teeth could actually be found on Florida’s coastline, and my evening phone scrolling would often land on pages explaining where and why these fossilized teeth showed up. And guess what my research told me… after Venice, FL the second best beach to find shark teeth in Florida is a place called Amelia Island off the northeast coast. And guess where our next stop was: Fort Clinch State Park… on Amelia Island from 2/23-2/26. Oh yeah – game time!

I have to say that even without the presence of awesome shark tooth hunting (which I found many), this was my favorite park we stayed at. Its mild remoteness is enough to detract the crowds, it has an awesomely preserved pre-civil war fort to explore, and we got to see navel submarines returning up the river channel. It is very clean and well shaded with mossy oak giving it a nice, calm camping getaway feel. I highly recommend it! Oh and very close by is Ferdandina Beach where you can find Pippi Longstocking’s house from the movie – and we did – and the girls loved it.

This was as far as Leah’s Florida tour planning had gone. Working with our recruiters, we realized we would have some more time to explore before landing the next contract job somewhere in South Carolina. So we figured we’d take this opportunity to see both Savannah, GA and Charleston, SC (pssst….you can find shark teeth here too – lots of them!). We stayed near Savannah at Skidaway Island State Park from 2/26-2/28. We thoroughly enjoyed Savannah, walking through Forsyth Park for their Saturday market, doing our own walking history tour, and of course stopping at Chipewa Square to reenact the bench scene from Forest Gump.

Was it Momma or Batgirl that said life is like a box of chocolates?

We stayed at James Island County Park outside Charleston, SC 2/28-3/4. While there we did another self-guided walking history tour of another very unique and charming city. What we were most impressed by was our visit of the USS Yorktown – a massive WWII aircraft carrier stocked with so many exhibits of different war time aircraft, tributes to the men and women who have served, and an excellent tour too try and “feel” what life was like for a service men at that time – so real. Within that visit, a tour of the USS Laffey battleship, and a Vietnam Experience was included. I highly recommend setting aside an entire day or two to take this all in. Everyone should go if in the area!

THANK YOU TO ALL WHO HAVE SERVED ON OUR BEHALF!!

We even spent a day checking out the Magnolia Plantation. A beautifully well kept piece of history. They had a great little petting zoo for the kids, beautiful grounds, and allowed for a very sobering tour of living quarters of the slaves on a typical southern plantation.

While at James Island, we secured Leah’s next contract to start on 3/12 in Lake City, SC! So we had a bit more time, and planned at trip up to Spartanburg, SC to check out that area. Yet, we still had one more day in James Island – what to do? Oh yeah – shark tooth hunt! We found Folly Beach to be very close and highly recommended for hunting – boy did it pay off! Not only did we find a ton of teeth, but I found half of a Megladon tooth! No joke – it’s real, and I snatched it up! Dreams realized, but fever only strengthened, ha!

I was sure to revisit Folly Beach a few more times while in SC, but never had this type of luck again!

So what do you do with a couple hundred shark teeth? Well, I sent a bunch out to friends of mine with small kids as souvenirs, learned how to wire wrap for some sweet necklaces (the kids and I call them our “power’ necklaces), and made some pictures. Why not? Check out these creations that are now hanging in the kids bunkroom!

Finishing up our trip with a bang, my folks surprised us with a trip down to Spartanburg to see us! It was great getting to visit with them, walk through Spartanburg and nearby Greenville, and enjoy some games and dinner around our campfire. Faith even wrote her own song for the occasion which she sang on her karaoke machine: “My Grandparents are so Kind”.

It is always so good to spend time with the fam! And check out that precarious looking campsite!

Our stay in Croft State Park from 3/4-3/10 was a great way to end an amazing end-of-winter tour. We traveled to Lake City, SC to find our home for the next three months on 3/10!

I told you to buckle up! That was a trip right? Next I’ll fill you in on our life in the charming small town of Lake City! See Ya!