Category: Adventure Reports

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Florida State Parks WanderLog

The White Sand Beaches of the Emerald Coast

Travel Dates: Dec. 3-13, 2015

We visited the Emerald Coast on our way east to west 2 years ago (blog post about that here) at the beginning of our crazy journey. We drove through this area way too fast and swore we’d come back and stay longer.

This time we wanted to try a different state park so we stayed at Grayton Beach. The campground isn’t right on the water (slightly annoying) but the sites were fairly secluded and it was peaceful.

We had some great beach time, ate at the Airstream food trucks in Seaside and even managed a visit to Santa Claus in nearby Destin.

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We also met some friends at church who are thinking about buying TWO Airstreams (one to sit and live in on the property, one to travel in) so we had them over to get a glimpse of what our life is like.

A new cast iron pan, a bike ride on the nature trail and a beautiful sunset topped off our 6 day stay.

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After leaving Grayton Beach State Park, we drove only about another hour and half towards Panama City Beach. We had visited Saint Andrew’s Park two years ago, but the weather was cold enough we didn’t get to see a lot.

This time the weather was beautiful! We picked up some boogie boards at a surf shop and the kids spent an entire afternoon riding the waves.

Our last body boarding adventure was over a year and a half ago (in southern California), but the kids took right to it. Cara, only 3 last time, picked it right up. With a few minutes of instruction from Rachel, she was catching pretty good rides. The beach here is perfect for kids, with a fully sandy bottom and gentle slope. It was a joy to see them shriek with excitement each time they got a ride.

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We try to not swim at the beach EVERY day (gotta give those swimsuits a chance to dry out!) so  one afternoon we escaped out to the beach for a much needed break. We visited the old turpentine still, carved faces into the sand, and practiced our dune jumping. Rachel was suffering from a bad case of a bad mood, and it translated directly into school struggles. After our afternoon wander, she was doing much better. It always amazes us  how a little wandering improves all of our moods.
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We stayed longer than normal in the last few spots and it was kind of weird. Like we are actually getting caught up on life. A few more weeks of this and we might actually get ahead! We had one last wander down the beach on Sunday afternoon and found this Merry Christmas sandman. A perfect ending to our great stay along the Emerald Coast. 

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Next we head farther southeast into Florida. First stop Tampa, and then Christmas in the Florida Keys!

Categories
Georgia WanderLog

Atlanta, Western Georgia, & We Call an Audible

Travel Dates: Nov 23 – Dec 2, 2015

When we announced our plans to head south after our trip to Utah, our friends from the house swap in Virginia mentioned they would be near Atlanta over Thanksgiving. We haven’t seen them in two years, so of course we had to stop by and visit! Our friend’s sister lives in Acworth and had space for us to moochdock in their driveway. We had a great two days exploring and the kids played pretty hard!
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After leaving Atlanta, we headed farther south in search of warmer temperatures. Our original plan had been to spend Thanksgiving backpacking in Smoky Mountain National Park, but it was cold and our plans from there down to Tampa just weren’t feeling right.

So, instead we decided to call and audible and head straight south to the beach! Of course, we can’t just hop RIGHT there as we had plenty to see on the way down.

We had some great recommendations from a friend on Instagram to visit FDR State Park in western Georgia, and we discovered there was back country camping in the park as well. That discovery sealed the deal.

We knew we wanted a Thanksgiving that was less about food and more about spending time together, and backpacking as a family does the trick.

Its hard to describe the feeling of accomplishment, satisfaction and pure happiness after two days out on the trails with our family. We did 7.8 miles over three days so it wasn’t hard, just lots of time unplugged with each other.

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President Franklin D. Roosevelt spent much of his free time out here in Georgia at this spot. He loved picnics, and even just being left alone out here with his thoughts. I imagine many of his projects and ideas were born while he was looking out over this exact view.

12277358_461449004045544_1962023149_nPacking up and moving on, we knew we wanted to visit Providence Canyon, but there’s not a campground there. We stayed only about 15 minutes away at nearby Florence Marina State Park and got our first taste back in the land of Spanish Moss.

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Unfortunately we got in late, and the next day it rained on and off so we concentrated on school and work. We finally managed to get our hike in early Thursday morning before checking out after lunch.

We explored Providence Canyon and loved the colorful rock formations. It almost felt like we could be back in Utah. The textures and colors in the walls of the Canyon make the 3 mile hike worth the trip. Canyon 9 might have been our favorite.

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From here we pushed on to the beaches in Florida. Its been 2 years since we’ve been there and everyone was ready for some white sand and boogie boarding!

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Backpacking National Parks Outdoor Adventures Video Wisconsin

Video: Backpacking on the Apostle Islands

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During our backpacking trip on the Apostle Islands this August, I recorded some video to help us remember the trip. Our two night, three day trip gave us so much video that I ended up with three videos! If you want to see more of our adventures, subscribe to our YouTube channel.

I hope you enjoy a glimpse of our adventure there.

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Florida Musings of Sam

Crossing Paths With Our Former Selves

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We woke up today in Site 65 in Saint Andrews State Park, just outside Panama City, Florida. Quite notably, this is the exact place we were two years ago, December 10th, 2013.

In 2013, we were headed west, ultimately to Southern California. We had just enjoyed Thanksgiving with friends in Tampa, and spent the next few months traveling West. Now, in 2015, we are heading east, making our way to the Florida Keys where we will spend Christmas.

Being here, on the same day, forces me to remember my former self, and recall our plans, emotions, goals, and fears. What were we thinking!?! How could we possibly travel full-time, exploring as we go? How can we live in such a small space? Will this really work? Will home-school work out? Can we really afford to do this?

Since then, our little family has enjoyed countless adventures, just a few of which I’ll highlight, in no particular order:

  • Baking freshly picked blackberry desserts on the North Coast of California.
  • Exploring the unknown Chiricahua National Monument in South-Eastern Arizona.
  • Spending days in beautiful view of the Grand Tetons.
  • Meeting countless friends around the country.
  • Backpacking in a Canadian National Park.
  • Riding Slickrock in Moab, UT.
  • Waking up to hot air balloons in Sedona, Arizona.
  • Exploring the USS Midway aircraft carrier.
  • Backpacking for Thanksgiving.
  • Visiting the McIlhenny Tabasco Sauce Factory in Louisiana.
  • Installing solar panels, upgrading the batteries, and adding an inverter.
  • Parallel parking the Airstream in Joshua Tree National Park, Jumbo Rocks Campground.
  • Mountain biking in Minnesota.
  • Enjoying sea-urchins in San Diego.
  • Seeking out local pizza all over the country.
  • Driving on the Bonneville Speedway on the Salt Flats in Utah.
  • Exploring numerous caves.
  • Shoe-skiing down glaciers.
  • Backpacking on the Apostle Islands
  • Exploring the Olympic Peninsula.
  • Selling our sticks-and-bricks house.
  • Canadian Poutine.
  • Crabbing on the Oregon Coast.
  • Helping Cara hike 4 10+ mile hikes before she turned 5.
  • Numerous desert Sunsets.
  • Swimming on the Atlantic, Pacific, and Gulf Coasts.
  • Touring the Hoover Dam.
  • Driving into Mexico for a beach day.
  • Eating ice-cream at Mount Rushmore.
  • Demolishing the Pig Trough pie platter at Betty’s Pies in Minnesota. Twice.
  • Enjoying the city library on Mackinac Island.
  • Andrew’s first 25 mile bike ride, before he turned 8.
  • Seeing Spanish Moss for the first time.

Have faith, former selves. Your next two years will be amazing, challenging, rejuvenating, exhausting, wonderful, and frustrating. And ENTIRELY worth it.

Categories
Biking Michigan

Taking Star Line Ferry to Bike Mackinac Island and Loving the Library

 

We don’t often do “touristy” things, but when we do we make sure they are going to be epic! Our trip to Mackinac (pronounced Mackinaw) Island was no exception. Despite the many souvenir & fudge shops, gear rental and horse-drawn carriage tours all pulling for us to spend money, we managed to make our visit very #likeacurren and include quite a bit of wandering.

When We Visited: Sept 23, 2015

Ages of Kids: 10, 8, & 5

How We Got There: Star Line Mackinac Island Ferry

The Star Line Ferry runs from either Mackinaw City or St. Ignace out to Mackinac Island many times a day. You can see the rates and download the schedule here on their website. We chose to go over early so we’d have most of the day to spend there and still be able to drive an hour or so away when we got back.

Star Line also offer free parking and we had no problems parking both our trailer and truck in their back lot. After we parked we headed over to the ferry dock on our bikes.

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Check in was super easy! We got yellow tags to put on our bikes and then we stacked them to be loaded. After that we got in line and waited to board.

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The kids chose to ride on top and it was super windy! We had all brought jackets anyway (which was a good thing) and we quickly put them on. The wind drove Rachel a little crazy with her hair whipping all around, but we had fun!

Star Line Ferry boasts a “Fast, Frequent, Fun, and Friendly” Hydro-Jet Ferry with the signature water jet rooster tail. The boat was definitely fast and fairly smooth!

Depending on your ferry time, the boat also takes you out under the Mackinac Bridge which we loved.

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Mackinac Island is particularly special because there are no cars allowed on the island! Everyone gets around by bikes or horse draw carriages.

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More than 80% of the island is part of Mackinac Island State Park, and there are numerous bikes paths and trails. If you go through the island its pretty hilly, but we chose to do the 8.2 mile M-185 that goes around the entire island. It was flat and the kids did great!

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There were plenty of stops along the way to keep us entertained. We climbed the stairs to Arch Rock, walked the nature trail, and enjoyed reading a little history at the British landing.

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It was about lunch time when we got back downtown and we had heard from our friends over at Take That Exit that Island Slice Pizzeria was amazing – and it truly was! We got a BBQ pizza Detroit style and it was probably the BEST pizza I’ve ever eaten.

We also wandered around, watched one guy make fudge, and found some yummy ice cream.
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Our last stop, however, was the public library! We have a habit of finding local libraries and the kids have various books they grab and sit down and read for a bit.

Most amazing was the back porch with Adirondack chairs and an amazing view of the lake! I think we could’ve stayed there all day!

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We took the afternoon ferry back to Mackinaw City, except this time we opted to sit below out of the wind!

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We had an absolutely fabulous time over on Mackinac Island, and definitely recommend going. There are plenty of places to spend money, but the island is also a peaceful, out of the way retreat if you know where to look!

Sponsorship disclosure – We partnered with Star Line Ferry. In exchange for ferry tickets to Mackinaw Island we agreed to share our honest experience and review with our readers. All photos, opinions and content are ours.