For several years now I have had the urge to travel which has been a dream of mine before marriage and children. My husband was never keen on the idea until one afternoon in 2016 he said, "let's do this!" The next day I began to sell, donate and give away items from my home. He was a bit shocked when he got home from work. I immediately called a realtor and our home sold within 24 hours for more than we were asking. I had sold, donated and given away EVERYTHING so that the day we moved we didn't even need a truck. We were able to drive away with everything we had left in both our vehicles. We moved to a smaller place directly across from the beach to enjoy the sunrise and sunsets for the following year before taking off to travel full time!
What a scenic drive we had for a day outing to explore Lake Okeechobee Florida. It is a large freshwater lake that looks like an inland sea. A great place to fish, picnic and just enjoy the beauty of the water and wildlife around the lake. Just remember like any body of water in Florida it will have alligators! The world is big and I want to have a good look at it before it gets dark. - John Muir
What a beautiful little town Helen, Georgia is to see. We camped just a couple miles away from this little village so we could spend time there too. There are so many unique things to see and foods to eat. My son n law, Stephen used to live in Germany so he really enjoyed the architecture and culture of this little place.
It is only about 2 miles long and packed full of things to see. There are waterfalls to walk to, a river to tube, stores with unique Bavarian gifts, German food, cabins and camping in the beautiful Blue Ridge mountains that surrounds this little village. We had a wonderful time and something for everyone to do. A hike to a waterfall or a day in town. I found this place to be enchanting!
Our family has a tradition when hurricanes approach to run as far north, east or west as possible. Those trips have been some of our most memorable times so we just automatically turn it into an impromptu vacation. We started this when the kids were really young because water came rushing into our house when I was a single mom with a 3 year old and a 6 year old. Our neighbor rescued us as we were huddled on top of furniture hoping not to drown in the flooding. I can't remember ever feeling so helpless and fearful for my little family. After I remarried and the first hurricane threatened to hit the coast my husband saw the fear in all our faces and said, "road trip!" We were never so relieved to get out of there and ended up in a tiny hotel in Valdosta, Georgia. We would walk to the Circle K to pick up snacks and drinks then order pizza. We had a blast just watching movies together and not fearful of the storms approach. For 30 years we have had these impromptu vacations through Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. This year we ended up in the Chattahoochee National Park to camp as a family. It was fun to put up the tent together, cook out, hike to the waterfalls nearby and just sit by the fire and tell stories. I could not have planned this as well as it all came together and now we have another fond vacation memory together as a family!
There is a little gem called "Peanut Island" in Riviera Beach, Florida. Many people don't realize they can go without having to own your own boat. We always pick up a water taxi at the Sailfish Marina and we bring our own picnic lunch. If you didn't want to pack a lunch you can always pick up some wonderful seafood at the Marina's restaurant. A great place to bring the entire family for the day or even longer if you decide to go camping. The water taxi's allow you to bring your gear and make it possible to bring your chairs, beach umbrellas, coolers, tents, etc. Call ahead to reserve and ask about the camping and how to reserve. Sailfish Marina Water Taxi link!