Preface
Well, I've spent enough time wandering around the internet to know that there are multitudes of people giving us a log of their travels. Many of them (including this one) are listed on the HitchItch site -- click the logo on the right to go check out some others.
August 1999
1. The Adventure Begins : Introduction and some related links.
2. I-10, End To End : Adventure Begins! Happenings and pictures from Tallahassee, FL to Quartzsite, AZ
3. Quartzsite, BTDT : (Been There, Done That) Initial Quartzsite visit with explanations of Long-Term Visitor Areas
4. ... And Then There Was Yuma : Adventures around Yuma and Imperial Dam Long-Term Visitor Area (LTVA)
4a. About Farmacia Algodones : How to order prescriptions from Mexico or Canada and save $$.
5. Biting the Bullet - LTVA Time! : Tamarisk, Hot Springs, and Pilot Knob LTVAs; California Dunes
December 1999
6. Are We Having Fun Yet? : More on Tamarisk (through Christmas 1999)
7. A Small Y2K Party With A Few Friends : New Year's Eve in Las Vegas with 300,000 friends
January 2000
8. Leaving Las Vegas? : More Las Vegas adventures; tips on places to go in Vegas
9. It's A Wonderful Life : Return to Quartzsite; photos from Las Vegas; La Posa LTVA
10. Glory! : More on La Posa; Trading in the Polaroid One-Step for a digital camera
11. Ferris Bueller's Day Off : Quartzsite's Hi Jolly Daze Kickoff Parade, Camel races, chatter on how great life is
12. Ghost Towns and Big-Horned Sheep : Around Quartzsite, Bouse, Old Brayton, Patton's tanks, etc.
13. Those Amazing Young Men In Their Flying Machines : The great hot-air balloon adventure, Studebakers, etc.
14. Q-Gridlock : Late January, Quartzsite over-run with RVers, pictures of RVs everywhere
15. Cacti, etc. : Neat cactus pictures from Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas
16. El Paso: Bikes Galore : Pictures across Arizona and New Mexico to El Paso; World's largest Harley dealer
17. U. S. 90: Today's Route 66? : Meandering through Texas towns on U. S. 90, with details on Judge Roy Bean's little town of Langtry
18. BBNP: You're Way Out If ... : 1st of 6 chapters on Big Bend National Park; getting there from El Paso
19. BBNP: A Great Campsite : Campground description with Javelinas, Road-Runners, etc.
20. BBNP: Rio Grande Sunsets : Scenery around the campground
21. BBNP: Boquillas, Mexico : One of the best adventures in BBNP, riding a Burro, crossing the Rio Grande, etc.
22. BBNP: Santa Elena Canyon : Some of the best scenery in BBNP
23. BBNP: The Window : Don't miss this adventure!
March 2000
24. Daytona Beach: Bike Week : Alot of motorcycle pictures and chatter about "how it was"
25. Titusville: Warbird Airshow : Some great old airplanes, on the ground and in the air
26. Satellite Beach: One More Party : Probably more exciting to me than you -- St. Patrick's Day party
27. Huntsville: Camping Under The BFR : Photos of Huntsville Alabama's Space and Rocket Center (& campground)
28. Florida: Big Fish : My deep-sea fishing adventure, including sharks, sailfish, and many others (plus people)
29. USA: Sunsets : A collection of photos of stunning sunsets from Arizona to Florida
30. Florida: Sunrise Shuttle Launch : Views of early-morning launch from 15 miles South of the Cape
October 2000
31. Quest For Colors: FL, GA, TN, AL, NC : Short, but colorful adventure through the South in Autumn
32. Poplars And Waterfalls: North Carolina : More colorful photos around Franklin, North Carolina
Early 2001
33. The World's Largest Airplane : Aerial views of Huntsville, a really long RV, and the big airplane
34. Huntsville: Harley Rally : For all my motorcycle friends -- many pictures of Harleys and the RVs that haul them
35. Cool and Unusual RVs & "Stuff" : A collection of some of the strange and really cool RVs I've seen -- and other cool stuff, like cars, truck, license plates, and billboards
September 2001
36. Italy Plus - A Quick Tour of Europe : The RVers go to Europe -- without their RV -- many great pictures
Early 2002
37. All About Slide-Outs : A study of slide-out rooms on Class A motorhomes -- Interesting if you're about to buy one -- probably boring if you're not
38. A Short Trip on I-10, I-20, I-30, & I-40 : A quick trip from Alabama to Texas to Tennessee, using all the Interstates; Also, Wild birds in the kitchen, Edsels, modem-friendly parks, and other topics.
39. Vicksburg -- Not an RV Town : I whine some about my hard time in Vicksburg, then show some photos taken on the Civil War Battlefield at Vicksburg.
40. Tuckaleechee - Beautiful But Too Costly : All you never wanted to know about Tuckaleechee Campground in Townsend, Tennessee -- "On the quiet side of the Smokies".
41. A Couple of Great Rides : What started out to be all about my rides on the river and in the 1932 Ford coupe turn out to be just some nice pictures of the Little River and the Foothills of the Smokies near Townsend.
42. Season Finale : Everybody else is having one, so I decided to also! Actually, you'll see some photos of some really great-looking classic cars and hot rods at a show in Townsend.
Late 2002
43. Back to a Class A! : Pictures of our "new" 1997 Pace Arrow Vision.
44. A Visit to Cassadaga, Florida : Our first trip in the Pace Arrow. A quaint little town of psychics and mediums.
45. Another Fine Fishing Trip : Four days in the Atlantic, eating, fishing, eating, camping, drinking, and eating.
46. Cruisin' the Coast : 4000+ classic cars cruise U. S. Highway 90 in Mississippi. PLUS! Towing Tips!
47. Cruisin' the Coast : Ha Ha -- different kind of cruisin' -- this time it's on a casino cruise ship -- complete with my winning multi-deck Blackjack system and info on the Jetty Park Campground.
Early 2003
48. How I Spent My Easter Vacation : A winning weekend trip to the Grand Casino in Tunica, Mississippi. Plus, if you're interested, the Nobody Knows It But Me -- Chevy Tahoe commercial.
49. Fish, FPL, Angels, Birdhouse, Saddam, and a Studebaker : A mish-mash of topics, with something for everybody.
50. A New RV and a Sailfish : First trip in our new 2003 Damon Challenger, fishing at Jupiter Inlet again.
Late 2003
51. Lost in Mt. Dora : A weekend visit to a sweet little Florida town full of antique and gift shops.
52. 1000 Miles to Moss Hill : A couple of weeks on I-10, visiting friends, relatives, casinos, and the Blue Angels.
53. Warning: Casinos Can Be Fattening : Trip almost like #52, visiting friends, relatives, casinos, and Jean Lafitte.
Early 2004
54. Really Glad We Have An RV : Short trip to handle family affairs, including a great tourist stop on I-75.
55. An Afternoon with Willie : Willie Nelson visits the Satellite Beach Texas Roadhouse restaurant.
56. Another View of Lazydays : A not-so-pleasant visit to the country's largest RV dealership.
57. Weather, Repairs, Bikes, Pugs, and Alaska : Multiple events on a short trip to Huntsville, Alabama.
58. A Bad Day at Fishing ... : A day in the life of some fishermen
Late 2004
59. Doing North Carolina : A little trip up thru FL, GA, SC, NC and back; including a visit to Biltmore Estates.
60. The Week That Was ... : A whole week+ of running from Hurricane Frances, with several neat adventures!
61. Frances, Jeanne, is it over yet? : Spent the weekend RVing around Florida, trying to stay out of Jeanne's way.
62. A Visit to Helen : We take a pleasant, slow trip through Georgia, Alabama, and to several WiFi campgrounds.
63. A Retiree's Holiday : Ramblings on how we retirees spent our end-of-year 2004 Holiday.
Early 2005
64. Short Trips and Yard-Birds : Some not-very-exciting "adventures", waiting for winter to end.
65. A Good Day at Fishing ... : Trip cut short, but still a great way to spend a week.
66. Travels Without Photos : May 2005 was a month of travels without any photos and photos without any travel ...
67. A Week of Sport Fishing : Shark, Marlin, Sail, Bonita, Barracuda ... fun, sun, and excitement, but no food.
Late 2005
68. Barnages, RV Ports, RV Lots, RV Villas, ... : Great RV retirement homes, vacation homes, or everyday homes.
Early 2006
69. From Canada to Mexico ... and Back : A MUST-READ, from a guest author, Paul Alton.
70. Fish of the Day! : Our first fishing adventure in the Atlantic - with photos of a really large Dolphin!
71. From Canada to Mexico ... and Back - Part II : The trip started in Chapter 69 continues.
72. Fishing and Surgery : Putting the RV to good uses ... April and May fishing trips.
73. From Canada to Mexico ... and Back - Part III : The Altons in Mexico saga continues from Chapters 69 & 71
74. From Canada to Mexico ... and Back - Part IV : Continuing from Chapter 73 ... they're nearly back in the USA!
Late 2006
75. A Great Independence Day, 2006 : Read about the world's biggest Roman Candle!
76. I Am The Greatest! : It's a bird, it's a plane, it's Super- .... hmm ... GBH ... a little bird story.
77. From Canada to Mexico ... and Back - Part V : Continuing from Chapter 74 ... Through the USA to Canada!
78. Cruisin' the Coast - 2006 : Back on the Mississippi coast, with some photos of Katrina's devastation
Mid 2007
79. It Ain't All Fun, but Mostly Is : Spending time with Sailfish, Dolphin, Cobia, Hogfish, and a bunch of wires.
80. The Big One That Didn't Get Away : A very large fish, birds, dogs, and a rocket - That's June!
81. Summer of '07 : Part I : Our August vacation, told as we travel!
82. 368 Miles to Ron-Jon Surf Shop : So much for telling as we travel ... back home now and trying to get it done.
Late 2007
83. Almost Autumn in Alabama : Just some observations from my Huntsville visit in September - October.
85. Closing Out 2007 : Is this my final chapter? Read it and let me know.
2008
86. Part-Time RVing in 2008 : A quick-look at my year of RVing (and not RVing), plus a couple of road trips.
2009
May 2009
87. Reunion and Road Trip : 50th class reunion, trip to Mentone Alabama, & St. Lucia retirement notes.
2010
July 2010
88. A Month in Mentone : Hoffmans' adventures in Mentone, Alabama with their new art gallery.
2012
July 2012
89. Mentonians : Our big move from urban Florida to rural Alabama.
August 2012
90. WLYS 2012 Goes Through Mentone : World's Longest Yard Sale in our front yard.
July 2013
91. My Last RV Trip: Fun trip to Florida, Mississippi, and Louisiana, before saying goodbye to the RV forever.
May 2020
92. May The Forth Be With You: Reminiscing about my life on my 79th birthday.
May 2020
93. Who in the World is Mickey Magoo? Short explanatin of the name that appears on Facebook.
THUS ENDS THIS TRAVEL LOG
2007 Update! All the photos (Chapters 1 through 36) are now on Shutterfly.com if you want to view them quicker, but without my colorful comments.
When I was working, I'd often read others' travel logs just to get some "virtual" travel time in. I guess my intent here is to address this type of "office-bound" readers as well as those about to embark on an RVing lifestyle and interested in learning what's ahead. As I add new chapters, you'll see the links appear below.
Caution to First-Time Visitors: In the first 9 chapters, I was struggling with a Polaroid One-Step and a Scanner, so pictures are somewhat amateurish. They're better in Chapter 10 and thereafter. Since the log got so long, I decided to put together a Travel Log Summary. Check it out and you might find something of interest that's not obvious from the index below.
Another add-on: I joined Passport America way before I started this travel log and I'm still (2011) sold on them. You'll see several references to them throughout the log. If you're interested in joining, click the link below. Go to Best Camping Club page for more info.
My Travel Log
Nothing in this site is copyrighted -- I'd be honored if you'd
reuse anything you find here for your website
