On our way to Florida!

This is our 6th year of going on a winter camping trip to Florida — yet this year is different! This is the first year that we’re both retired, so we are going for longer. Secondly, I’m can drive both ways with Greg as opposed to flying now that I don’t have to be back at work in two weeks. Finally, we think this might be the last trip to Florida in our beloved motor home. We purchased it, used, 18 years ago, and it has served us well as we’ve traveled all over the country with our family and friends. While Greg has worked really hard to maintain it, it is showing its age and has a fair number of miles. So, as we leave for one last big road trip in it, we are feeling sentimental about all the fun memories we've had over the years.

Wow! It’s awesome to be married to an engineer. He had built our original trailer 22 years ago using the wheels and bearings from the first car we bought when we were newly married. Starting last fall, Greg began working on building a new stake-side box for that trailer as the old box was rotted. We now have a solid new trailer, packed with everything we need, that can haul our bikes, kayaks, and wind surfers.

We left Minnesota Monday afternoon on a beautiful day with dry roads — a far cry from last year’s polar vortex winter driving conditions.

We drove to Gary & Linda’s house (Greg’s brother) in Cedar Falls. Even though we had nice weather conditions, it still would be awfully cold to sleep out in the motor home while we are still this far north, so it was awfully nice to spend the night inside. We had a wonderful dinner and a fun visit catching up.

We left Gary & Linda's early this morning and had beautiful driving conditions all day. Tonight, we are staying at Flying J in Oak Grove, Kentucky. The beautiful clear skies are going to mean a cold night in the motor home tonight — it's already down to about 30 degrees! Luckily, we have warm sleeping bags, down jackets and hats to keep us warm.