Yesterday was an awesome day. We started the day out with a two hour zip line tour through the forest. Adventure World is at Catherine's Landing. What a blast. I have a little fear of heights. I think I am cured!!! At one point we had to walk a very narrow suspension bridge 2x8 for our feet 85 feet up. It felt like the bridge was going to roll over. It lead to a very very small platform 85 feet up! You had to stand there until it was your turn to zip. I was never so happy to jump at 85 feet just to get off of the platform.

After that we went towards Hot Springs to hike up to Goat Rock. It was a nice hike with some spectacular views.

Clicky:
Zip Lining at Catherine's Landing, Arkansas

We left Jellystone and ran up to Catherine's Landing in Hot Springs. AR. The roads in Arkansas suck!!

However, Catherine's Landing is a really nice campground. The facilities are well maintained and there is plenty of things to do.

Yesterday, I spent the day with my younger brother installing a second battery and inverter on his pickup truck. He is planning on bringing chest freezer for provisioning additional food and to bring back all of the fish we plan on catching. I sure hope we can fill it.

Chris, Heather and my brother's wife Angel went hiking around the Campground.

Today we did the same hikes around the campground before heading to Catherine Lake State Park for a hike up to water falls.

We had a pleasant surprise as my brother in law (Keith) was driving back to his house near Houston. He stopped by for a couple hour visit.

After Keith left to head back to Houston, we went to the State Park. It was a very nice hike.

We then wrapped up the day going up to the top of the observation tower downtown Hot Springs.

Tomorrow we plan on zip lining here at the campground.

Ok just a quick update. We spent a couple of days at the Bremen, Georgia Jellystone RV park. Mainly just to chill out a little. There really is not much to do in Waco Georgia the actual town the campground is in.

We were able to provision up a little at the local Walmart, play some putt putt golf, and walk a little. They do have a couple of alligators, three huge turtles, and a couple of macaws.

On May 7th, we headed to Graceland. I would say a little bit of a tourist trap, but something we can check off that we did. I learned a little more about Elvis, and got some steps in (walking).

Tomorrow we head to Catherine's Landing in Hot Springs to hook up with my brother and his wife. We will spent 5 days there to check out the area and do some hiking.

Day 1.

What a crappy day. We left at a casual 9AM for Valdosta, Georgia. Getting my experience with the new Motor Coach was supposed to be a thousand miles of easy driving. NOT LIKELY!

We ended up with down pours, wind, lightening, construction, traffic, and even a tornado warning. This lasted to the Georgia border. Very frustrating for our first long day. The Coach handled the day a lot better than I did. We stopped at two rest areas on the way up; one to let me chill out a little and the second to eat lunch.

The good news is I am feeling very comfortable with the coach's handling and I bet within a few hundred more miles I will be relax as I was running our Seneca.

Alaska 2016

So here we go.... This is the first of many posts as we head to Alaska again.

Here are the Updates and Plans:

Firstly, we have traded in our awesome 2010 Jayco Seneca HD for a 2016 Newmar Dutch Star 4369. It is absolutely awesome, luxurious, comfortable, etc, etc.

We took delivery Wednesday, April 27th, 2016. We took her home and spent two days days to load everything on for the trip. For our shakedown, we decided to go close to Pioneer Village RV resort in North Ft. Myers. The place is OK as it has a pool, some rec. rooms, and fitness center. So far only a couple of minor issues that will be taken care of on Monday.

Here is a picture when we first arrived for shakedown at Pioneer Village RV Resort:

Our plan for the next three months is:

Heading out next week to Arkansas to visit my younger brother Bob and his wife Angel. We should spend a week with them touring Hotsprings, Lake Cathrine, and the surrounding areas. Together with their 2006 Jayco Seneca HD we will head to South Dakota to spend a week at Mount Rushmore. From there we will head to Dawson Creek "Mile Zero".  Up the Alcan to Delta Junction and on to Fairbanks. From Fairbanks down to Denali, Wasilla, Anchorage, Homer, Seward, Valdez. Our return will take us north through Tok up the "Top of the World Highway" to Dawson City. Then south and work our way back to Southwest Florida.

I will post as we have internet, pictures and videos.

Ken, Chris, and of course Heather.

June 30, 2015 Wrap Up

Well the last couple of weeks we have had sporadic internet at best. I tried a couple of times to update the blogspot, but it just error'ed on me.

We spent a couple more days at Atlantis enjoying the slides, the pools, and the aquariums. We also spent a day over at Nassau. The straw market was somewhat ok, but really it was just $200.00 out of pocket for some useless souvenirs. There is quite a bit of history in Nassau, and quite a few unique shops.

June 15th, 2015

Our run back to Bimini was a little uncomfortable as we had 2 to 4 foots seas on the beam. This made for a rolling ride. Sometimes I think I prefer them on the bow even though I have to go slower. Bimini Blue Water (Fuel Dock) was full of boats, so we decided to get fuel on our departure.

Rather than renting another golf cart at Bimini, we decided to use our bikes. That was definitely a different perspective; and fun.

Bimini really has a trash problem. There was trash and flies everywhere. For the life of me, I cannot understand why the locals live in their own trash. I did ask a couple of them why there was so much trash; their response was that the trash barge only comes to the island every couple of weeks.

My gripe is that we have paid a $300.00 cruising permit, and nearly $2,000.00 in the new VAT. Where is the money going? I sure hope it is not creating another corrupt government.

They had better figure it out, or they are going to start chasing away their sole source of income.

I bet it was due to the trash and flies, but I ended up with E.coli. I cannot ever remember being that sick. For the first day and a half I could not even keep water down. After three days, I felt a little better, but I really was not back to "normal" until almost 10 days. That sucked.

For years, this road (The Queen's Highway) was just packed sand. Now it is paved one end to the other.

June 19, 2015

Since we were only running back to Miami Beach, we decided to leave later than we typically do. Around 9AM. Again, we tried to get fuel at Bimini Blue Water, but the dock was full again. I just made the decision to go straight to Miami Beach. The water was fairly calm, and we arrived with just over 1/4 of a tank.

What I learned is we can go straight to or from Atlantis without a fuel stop. I think we will take advantage of that if Bimini does not figure out the trash issue.

June 20, 2015

We had a really easy run down to Key Largo's Marina Del Mar. We really like this area due to the diving, snorkeling, and pools around the resort. Also, the closed Coconuts has reopened as Skippers. Good food, but really expensive, and live music. A really good addition.

We took the dink out to Mosquito Bank to do some snorkeling, but the water was really stirred up with silt.

We then took the dink out exploring. We found a canal (turned creek) that almost went across the island. There was quite a current, but we did find a dolphin sanctuary.

The African Queen is in full operation now.

The new Skippers (old Coconuts) at Key Largo's Marina Del Mar

June 24, 2015

We decided to go on down to our stomping ground Key West.

We discovered this unmanned boat. Reported it to the USCG. They had us send them pictures and they sent someone out to check it out. Once it is checked out, they paint "OK" on the side. This one did not have "OK" painted on it yet.

We always have a good time, and we try to something different each time. The difference this time was we went fishing on the Tortuga IV.


I caught two nearly three foot sharks that we threw back. Chris caught 4 and I caught 3 yellow tails. Good eatin'!

We took the dink to Smather's Beach and found our small little spot of tranquility.

First night sunset from Mallory Square over Sunset Key (Tank Island).

One of the two sharks I caught. I was really hoping on a Grouper.

Lots of Yellow Tail

Sunset from the bow of our boat.

A manatee drinking from a storm sewer.

On June 29th, we decided to wrap up the trip and head home. Overall, it was a great trip. I will say, we will move out quicker and spend more time on the return. That will leave more budget for the side trips like Exuma and Eluethra.

June 13, 2015

Well, I think the weather made our decision for us. It is going to be blowing the entire week. I am now pretty confident we will head west back to Bimini for a while, and then head down to Marina del mar in Key Largo.

Yesterday was another day of pools and slides. What a blast. Heather gained so much confidence, we just let her take off. She went down the Leap of Faith by herself. It was hilarious, because she was gone about and hour so Chris and I decided to walk up to the Mayan Temple. Coincidentally, she was in line at the top. We saw her by her hair braid. Chris was able to video her trip down.

Heather Leap of Faith

Video

We also spent some time on the Lazy River, and Heather did quite a few tube rides. Another nice day in paradise.

We are going to leave Monday, and head back to Bimini. The lesson I learned this trip is we need to move a little faster out weather permitting. Taking 5 and 6 days each stop took a bunch of money and time. I think I would spend only a day or two out and then if time and money permit, spend the longer stays on the return.