Our First Month on the Road- Part I

Today marks one month since we left Houston. It actually feels like it has been longer because we have been so many places already.  Our original plan was to leave on April 15th but due to all our RV problems we didn't get to leave Houston until May 20th. Last night we arrived in Dillon South Carolina and after we  hooked up only half our outlets were working. I was worried our converter was going out again. Luckily Chris got it figured out today and it was a problem with the 50 amp hook up at our RV park not our RV! Whew!  Even though this part of this lifestyle is very frustrating we are still so happy we decided to do this.

We are slowly filling up our sticker map

We have been planning our stops around trying to get to Alexandria, Virginia by the end of June to visit Chris's Aunt Marilyn. Chris is still working  8 to 5 Monday through Friday so we are trying to only move on weekends.  Sometimes both Saturday and Sunday are driving days.  This could be a great recipe for burning out so we are going to slow it down after we leave Alexandria.  This will also save us money by not spending as much on gas. Also, the RV park monthly and weekly rates are way cheaper than the daily rates and we would not feel the rush to do and see as much as we can in the short time we stop in a different city.  We think once we slow it down we can really get to enjoy the places we are staying a little more. 

In the past month we have already stayed in a lot of places and have enjoyed different things about all of them.

Kinder, LA- Red Shoes RV Park at Coushatta (1 night)

We left on a Friday night and Kinder was about a 3 1/2 hour drive from Houston so it was a good stop for our first night. The casino was also a fun place to have some drinks and celebrate the start of our adventure.  We thought the RV park was really nice for the price. It even had a cool little dog park we took the dogs to in the morning before we headed to New Orleans.  I think even Remus and Samson had a good time.

 

New Orleans, LA-  French Quarter RV Park ( 1 night)

This was the most expensive RV park we have stayed at so far.  It was over $100 for the night because it was within walking distance to downtown.  The road to the RV park was also very hard to drive in on because it was narrow with cars parked on both sides of the road. The RV park was also pretty loud at night because it was right by the freeway.   

As far as New Orleans it wasn't our favorite stop but we only had one night there. We would like to go back sometime and explore Jackson Square, the Garden District and some of the historical sites during the day. We did have an excellent dinner at Carmo and I think that was our favorite thing there.

After dinner we had some drinks in the French Quarter, listened to some live jazz music and walked around downtown.  I felt like it would have been more fun with a group.

French Quarter RV Park

Yeah Chris was really enjoying his food haha

Seriously my vegan Carmo Salad was amazing

Some trolleys on Bourbon Street

Biloxi, MS- Majestic Oaks ( 1 week)

We both really liked Biloxi and Majestic Oaks RV Park. It felt like we were on vacation. We were close to grocery stores, restaurants, the beach and the casinos. What more could we ask for?

For some reason there was never anyone at the beach so walking around the beach was one of our favorite things to do. Our first night we were greeted with this beautiful sunset.

Chris at Biloxi Beach

We also enjoyed our visit to Beauvoir (The home of the president of the confederate states Jefferson Davis).

Front of the house

Back of the house

I loved all the peacocks roaming around the property. They were gorgeous.

Unfortunately we didn't have enough time to check out the museum on the property.

I already miss going to to Shaggy's on the beach and  having  their delicious pina coladas and fried green tomatoes.

pina colada for me and bloody mary for Chris

 

best fried green tomatoes with some chipotle sauce on them

  

Game of Thrones Slot Machine

Biloxi Lighthouse- been standing since 1847

Mobile, AL- Shady Acres (6 days)

This was another nice and inexpensive RV park. It had a short walking trail and river behind it.

We really didn't do too much here. We were busy working and taking care of stuff around the house. We did go out to eat once at Wintzell's Oyster House, walked around downtown and took a quick trip to Gulf Shores before we left.  It would have been nice to be able to explore more and spend more time at the beach. 

Shady Acres Campground

The river behind the RV park

Chris at Gulf Shores

Chris had a great time playing in the waves 

Vernon, FL- Three Oaks Winery (1 night)


This was a very exciting stop for us. It was our first time using our Harvest Hosts membership and our first time boondocking(no hook-ups).  We didn't go anywhere in Vernon but we were at a winery so we did a wine tasting and bought two bottles of wine. The Harvest Hosts membership is only $44 a year.  You can stay at wineries, farms, museums and other attractions for free. So, the only amount we spent here was for our 2 bottles which was under $30. 

Three Oaks Winery

Our parking spot for the night

Tallahassee, FL- Tallahassee RV park (4 days)

We didn't get to do much here because it rained a couple days due to tropical storm Colin. Then our converter went out and we had no power or a/c for a full day (that was fun). We cooked most of our meals at home.  I think we went out to eat once and went to the grocery store a couple times. We did get quite addicted to the chicken salad at Publix. The only time we really got out to explore was when we took a walk around a nice little nature trail near the RV park.