Dlog: Atlanta, GA -> Somewhere in Florida

We set out from Atlanta with well-rested bodies and grateful, happy minds. It is time to get south and get warm! This period of being on our own on the road has been the easiest and smoothest in terms of the transition to road living and our efficiency with setup/takedown of camp and general van-living. It feels that we have really settled into a rhythm when we are on the road and we have also started to figure out our ideal pace of living. 

January 12th:

Today, we left the Payne's Prairie to head to the Santos mountain bike trails and camp nearby. 

Our first fun adventure of the day was to stop at Owen Illinois park, where Max and I collected ants together on a school trip with our undergraduate research lab. We always say that trip was where we really first met. It was definitely the first instance where we spent time together and was the beginning of our flirtation. Fun memories and a silly little place to revisit! We exercised Lola and ate a late breakfast there before getting on our way to Santos Trails. 

The next stop was at The Orange Shop in Citra County outside Ocala, FL. We got 10 pounds of on-sale oranges and got to try out a bunch of different varieties there!

Just before getting to our campground, we noticed an old-school drive in movie theater only a few minutes down the road from where we would be staying. We looked it up quickly online and found out that a showing of Wicked was happening that night at 9PM. So we settle into our campsite and hung out until the movie. The moon was absolutely beautiful!

Unfortunately, we don't have a radio in the van and this was a very low-tech theater so there was no online station to tune and no radios that they could hand out. We ended up parking as close to the concession stand as possible since there was a small speaker playing the movie there. Max fell asleep half-way through the movie and I got a crick in my neck from looking up at the screen. Overall, interesting experience but probably won't do that again. 

There were about 2-dozen vans parked in the theater. They were all covered up as if there were people sleeping inside, but not one of them was out watching the movie. Max did some digging online and figured out that this theater was part of a program called Harvest Host and Boon-dockers Welcome which is a service that connects businesses with RV and Van traveling people. You patron the business and in exchange they will let you park overnight in their facilities. These are most commonly Farms, Wineries, Breweries etc. but this move theater was also a part of the program. We signed up and are looking forward to utilizing this service in the future!

 

January 11th:

It rained all night and between that and the high winds in the area, neither Max nor I got much high quality sleep. In addition, the colder and cloudy morning meant that we were not eager to get up and out of the van. We both took lengthy hot showers at the campground, which were clean and, somewhat rarely, more than warm enough ! Finally, we dragged ourselves out of the van and went on a walk with Lola. We let her hunt in a strip of brush surrounded by an empty parking lot. 

I made some coconut curry and Max did some laptop work in the afternoon. We took a short bike ride and played catch in the afternoon. It was a extremely mellow and kinda boring day. Not that boring is bad. 

Finished out the evening by posting a bunch of content on instagram and planning out Max's long-awaited return to instagram! Max's Instagram!

January 10th:

It was beautifully warm and sunny today. One of the warmer days we've had in awhile. Our mission today was to go on a decently long hike around the park. Although access to the prairie here is limited (and pets are not allowed on the prairie), we were still able to take a good long walk and see a bunch of magnificent wildlife.

January 8th:

We splurged on an Airbnb for tonight and decided to do a date night in Gainesville! The place we rented was a converted shipping container located walking distance from downtown Gainesville. 

We walked to the local park to exercise Lola and met a friendly local and her dog named "Bodega". A wonderful play session ensued and we got some tips on local spots to hit that evening. We ended up going to a korean fried chicken spot called Korean bbq Chicken. We were the only patrons at the waiter was a super sweet guy who went out of his way to explain the menu to us and suggest the best dishes. The food was amazing. Tteok bokki rosé (left) and Korean fried chicken (right).

We then headed to Jesse's absolute favorite popsicle shop called Hyppo. It is a small chain confined to Florida which Jesse's family visits regularly in St. Pete on their family vacation. Max got Almond Espresso ice cream and Jesse got her go-to Key Lime Ice pop. 

We finished out the night by going to an appropriately named cocktail lounge called "The Traveler".  It has a dim-lit jungle vibe with highly specialized craft cocktails and many made in-house liqueurs. The bartenders were super friendly, and again, we were the only people there for the first hour or so. According to the bartenders, this was an unusually quiet night, probably because of the unusual cold temps and the holiday season having just ended. Eventually, another couple walked in, which alleviated some of the awkwardness in the tiny intimate space. Anyway, we thoroughly enjoyed a few cocktails each, made our way home before 10PM, and got to watch a movie in bed. A successful date night by my measure! 

January 7th:

We are staying at Manatee Springs just outside Gainesville. This place is one of those places that holds a special natural magic. The water is kept at a constant temperature of 75F and it bubbles up from a crystal clear hole and rushes 800 ft through a cypress forest to meet the Suwannee river. A boardwalk follows the spring towards the river and the amount of wildlife that you can see over that short 800 ft is truly awe-inspiring. We saw large amounts of Grass Carp, some Catfish, and several other species of smaller fish. These were mostly congregated around the mouth of the spring and where the spring meets the Suwannee. A massive roost of black vultures decorated the trees all the way along the spring and were often heard squawking and rustling their feather in flight whenever a gust of wind blew by. Several groupings of white Ibises gathered on the shoreline and a Great Egret waded through the clear water. We were lucky enough to catch a Green Heron hunting for minnows just below us on the boardwalk. The bird would carefully creep towards the school of minnows, then hold perfectly still until they swam under him, when he would strike out with his beak and snatch a fish from the water. We had to have appeared as still as the Heron for about an hour while we watched the display. At the end of the boardwalk, right where the clear water from the spring mixes with the muddy waters of the Suwannee, you could spot the white shadows of Manatees under the water and could catch a glimpse of their noses whenever they breached the surface for air. I don't know how much time we spent there and I don't care. We were both happy and grateful to enjoy the experience of beauty and life.

January 5th:

We visited Ichitucknee Springs today and took a dip in the beautifully clear water. It was a bit cold, but absolutely wonderful water to swim in!

Our camp setup is getting pretty cozy!

January 3rd:

We spent the morning hanging out in the sun at our campsite and reading. This afternoon, we drove to the beach on the other side of the reservoir from where the campsite is. Lola ran around and dug in the sand while Jesse cut Max's hair. We then had to hold Lola down while we gave her fur a trim. Here are both after their haircuts! 

Someone gave us this cool 3D printed magnet for the van! We are staying in Reed Bingham Park.

Molly and Charlie (Jesse's brother) called from France where they are having their holiday vacation. We talked for a good couple hours.

Altogether, it was a relaxing and beautiful day. Max kept repeating "wow it is so nice out". The sun being out and the temperature being up really helps elevate one's mood. We had a beautiful clear night with the stars shining!