Aluminum Bliss

Outside the Castillo de San Marcos in St. Augustine, Florida

Well, hello there! It’s been awhile.  We’ve been tending to some personal matters, making important plans, etc. so I fell behind on my entries and realized I never posted about my glorious afternoon in St. Augustine, Florida. Oops! 

Our three weeks in Jacksonville were wonderful.  We went for  strolls on the beach and around the campground’s lake.  We enjoyed the sights and sounds of a family reunion, kids playing on the playground, and a very happy puppy playing in the ocean and running in the sand.  At the top of my “To Do” list was to see St. Augustine but I don’t think  it was on the top of Chris’ list.  He had already seen St. Augustine and I think had other things on his mind.  But, on one Sunday, he graciously agreed to my request and off we went to see this historical city. 

"Cover your ears!"

It was a spectacularly sunny day. (As it should be, after all, this IS the Sunshine State but lately it has been cold and un-Florida like…probably because I’m trying to live my life as a snowbird now and winter is not pleased with me.)  We were quite happy to put away our fleece jackets and sport our short sleeved shirts.  With the weather being so nice, the city was packed.  Luckily, we found a tight and somewhat overpriced parking spot for our monster truck, grabbed a map, and set off on our exploration.

The oldest wood schoolhouse in the USA

Our first stop was the fort, Castillo de San Marcos, which was constructed in 1695.  Here we enjoyed the benefit of having a National Parks Pass. We were able to walk up the ticket booth, flash our Pass, and gain access to the fort so easily!  Seriously…this pass is totally worth it! Go out and get yours today.  I love forts. My love of forts dates back to my childhood.  I have fond memories of visiting Fort Pulaski in Savannah, Georgia.  Additionally, I excelled at building forts in my backyard out of pinestraw, or in my living room out of bedsheets and blankets, and even as an adult, building forts out of snow.  I’m all about the forts.  We walked in and out of the different rooms of the fort, listened to the park ranger tell about the history of the fort and read the various exhibits posted around the fort grounds.  It was very informative and interesting. But, we were anxiously awaiting 3:30 p.m. 

Cathedral of St. Augustine

Finally, at 3:30 p.m. we rushed up to the second level of the fort and watched as men decked out in 17th Century Spanish Colonial uniform marched from the courtyard up to the second level and over to one of the many cannons that lined the wall of the fort.  For the next five to ten minutes, they demonstrated how a cannon is prepped for firing.  And, then, the moment all the children (and most adults) were waiting for: the uniformed men shout, “Cover your ears!” And, with that, the cannon is fired sending a puff of smoke into the air.  It was very exciting. 

After our tour of the fort, we walked over to the historical city streets and strolled along with the thousands of other tourists noting the nice cafes, shops, and churches.  There is a definite charm to St. Augustine and if I could have, I would have plopped myself down on a bench or at a cafe table and passed the remainder of the day by simply watching the happy tourists and enjoying the quaint surroundings.  Instead, we headed back to the truck to return to our campground but not without me finally giving in and stepping foot inside one of the many chocolate shops.  And, lo and behold, this one had gelato.  It was meant to be for this pregnant lady has been needing some gelato.  For anyone who cares, I chose the mixed berry flavor and it was fabulous. Oh happy day!

Learning to live life in the slow lane... (Picture taken in the redwood forests of California).

One of our many reasons for pursuing the Airstream life was to actually enjoy our weekends.  We were finding that when living in our immobile home, we spent our weekends cleaning, catching up on chores/errands, and working on the house while longing to go out and see the sights, take a weekend trip, kayak, hike, or even just lounge in our hammock and read a book.  Sure, we probably could have found ways to make it happen in a not-so-drastic manner but that’s not our style.  So, we embarked on this journey with many goals, one being to finally get out and enjoy the outdoors (in activities that didn’t involve pulling weeds or mowing lawns.)

Enjoying activities we didn't make time for in our Pre-Airstream life. (Picture taken while kayaking in Scappoose Bay, Oregon.)

Unfortunately, I think we started our travels incorrectly and formed bad habits for life as full-timers.  First, our journey started with a somewhat rushed drive across the country to make it to San Francisco for a conference.  This means that while we stayed in campgrounds Mondays through Fridays, our weekends were spent driving.  Lots of driving.  We assumed that after the conference, we would learn to slow down.  And, we definitely did slow down compared to our first month.

We were then confronted with our second challenge.  It was mid-summer and we learned quickly that campsites during the summer can be hard to get for long periods of time.  We were lucky if we would find a site for an entire week and completely blessed if that included a Friday night stay.  This put us spending many of our Saturdays (and, sometimes, Sundays) traveling to our next site.  While our driving times decreased since our next destinations were never too far away, finding an available campground sometimes proved difficult.  As a result, we often failed to see everything we wanted to see or had to see some sights during a quick drive-by.

Enjoying beautiful scenery along the way... (Picture from Port Angeles, Washington)

It doesn’t mean that we didn’t enjoy our weekends.  We were out west where every turn brings you an even more incredibly beautiful sight. Car ride conversations usually consisted of “Wow! Look at that!” or, “That’s beautiful!” So, it was still an incredible journey and much better than cleaning bathrooms and doing laundry.  But, we still longed for non-driving weekends and definitely appreciated them when we had them.

But, why bring this up now? Because for the first time in our Airstream journey, we are at a campground for not one week, not two weeks, but THREE weeks!  THREE WEEKS! So, this weekend we didn’t worry about hitching up, finding our next campground, worrying about whether said campground would have internet, etc.  Nope…this weekend we enjoyed a relaxing, fun-filled weekend!

And, now enjoying walks on the beach at our current location - Jacksonville, FL.

Throughout our journey, we’ve enjoyed meeting up with friends who live in various places around the country and many who we had not seen in quite some time.  This weekend, we had the pleasure of getting together with one of my best friends from my childhood.  She and her family now live in Jacksonville so it was fabulous to spend an evening laughing over memories, catching up, and meeting her adorable children.

On Sunday, we spent an afternoon exploring St. Augustine.  We toured the Fort, saw a cannon firing demonstration, and walked the historic city streets.  I’ll do a separate post about St. Augustine later this week and post pictures of our time there as it is definitely worthy of its own entry.  It was a great afternoon.

Meeting our campground neighbors...

It helped that the weather was warm and the sun was shining brightly.  We came back to the campground feeling rejuvenated and satisfied.  Or, at least, I did.  Chris came back to many hours of work for Sunday evening. But, I still think he enjoyed the weekend.

Another benefit of slowing down is the chance to take in some local cuisine.  We don’t eat out often (not nearly as much as we did pre-Airstream life).  We enjoy cooking our own meals now.  It’s healthier and cheaper.  Plus, often times, there are not a lot of good eating options near campgrounds.  But, since we are just outside a large city we have quite a few eating options…good eating options. (Actually, did you know that Jacksonville is the largest city in land area in the United States? It’s true.)  We typically avoid chain restaurants (with the exception of the occasional Cracker Barrel or Subway on driving days), and seek out the favorite local establishments.  Sometimes restaurants are recommended to us but most recently, we have had good results by using Urbanspoon.com.

And, hoping the alligators don't make a meal out of me...

Since being in the Jacksonville area (we are specifically in Atlantic Beach) we have discovered two glorious places.  One:  DaVinci’s pizza, “where every pizza is a work of art.”  It’s a family-owned establishment that uses fresh ingredients.  The service is friendly, the pizza is delicious and the garlic rolls are a little taste of heaven.  They are convenient to the campground, too! If you are in the area, make sure you check them out: 469 Atlantic Blvd, Atlantic Beach, FL.  Make sure you tell them “Aluminum Bliss” sent you.  They will have no idea what this means but it’s fun to say, right?

Our other restaurant that quickly reached favorite status is Simply Tasty Thai.  And that it is! Great, friendly service and delicious affordable food. I love Thai food and have been craving Drunken Noodle for quite some time.  This exceeded my expectations.  Located approximately 2-3 miles from the campground, this was another Urbanspoon recommendation and I completely concur with the rave reviews.  You can find them at 2292 Mayport Rd in Atlantic Beach.

If you have any recommendations for the area (restaurants, sights to see, etc.), let us know…we’ll be here for awhile! Ah…finally…life in the slow lane!

The beach within walking distance of our campground. Lovely!

Last weekend, as we began our hitching up process to depart Skidaway Island State Park in Savannah, we had the great pleasure of meeting some fellow Airstreamers who had just arrived at the park.  I follow Richard and Jen, of “Shiny Aluminum Love” on Twitter and I’ve also visited their blog on a number of occasions.  In fact, when Chris and I were first shopping for our Airstream (and I had not yet stepped foot into one), I did an online search for Airstream videos and found one of Richard and Jen’s videos giving a tour of their Airstream.  (I neglected to mention this to them when we met…so Richard and Jen, your video was very helpful!)  We chatted for awhile about full-timing, technology, etc.  It was wonderful meeting them! Make sure to check out their site!

The lake at Hanna Park campground.

We left Savannah without a clue as to where we were headed next…only that it must involve driving south.  During our drive along the interstate we saw a wild pig on the side of the road. I’m serious.  Maybe this is common…Chris didn’t seem to care so much.  But, I had never seen a wild pig.  Of course, I couldn’t get a picture since we were on the interstate but trust me…it was there.  It excited me.  I love it when I can add another first to my list.  This got us chatting about all of the animals we’ve seen during our Airstream travels.  Additional firsts (for me)  include: porcupines, mountain goats, and big horn sheep. So, my list of firsts isn’t that long but it excites me nonetheless.

One of the many armadillos seen in the campground

We decided to check out Hanna Park in Atlantic Beach, Florida.  It’s a county park that  I had found through RV Park Reviews earlier in the week.  When I called the park and asked about Verizon service (See! I’m learning to plan ahead now!) they informed me that Verizon was not picked up in the park. For some reason, however, we refused to believe them.  Call us stubborn.  We decided to check it out ourselves…at least for a Saturday night until we made further plans. The park sounded too nice for us to not at least check it out.  (FYI: County parks have worked out really well for us in our travels. They typically are not as well publicized (so they are also less crowded!) as other public parks but I’ve been very impressed with the ones we’ve stayed at all over the country.  So, be sure to check the parks at the county level when you are planning a road trip!)

Our campsite at Hanna Park

We pulled into the park, which is conveniently located between the beach and a lake.  Nice! We checked in at the office where we were told that they DID receive Verizon service.  So, we booked a full week at the park and got a fabulous campsite near the lake.  As we were driving into the park, you’re never going to believe what I saw!  An armadillo!  Okay, again…Chris didn’t care about this but I’ve never seen an armadillo.  So, two firsts in one day! Apparently I have lived a very sheltered life.

The campsites are not huge but do offer some privacy so you don’t feel like you are on top of your neighbor.  Benefits of the park include laundry on-site, full hookups at $25/night, great trails, a campground store, 24-hour security, convenient location to downtown Jacksonville and of course, a beach and a lake!

So, it isn’t really beach (or lake) weather but it’s warm enough for lovely walks to see all the sights (including armadillos and loads of birds) around the campground.  Additionally, the sun has been shining brightly and that makes for a happy Lani.  We’re enjoying the park so much, in fact, that we’ll be staying possibly longer than our one week planned. Stay tuned!

We find ourselves currently in a lovely campground in Jacksonville, Florida and we will be here for a few weeks so I’ll have more to share about the campground later.  Today, however, I want to share a link to a project that my husband recently shared with me:  The Story of Stuff.   The site has a great 20-minute video about the accumulation of stuff and the environmental impact of the increased consumption rate.  I highly recommend checking out the site.  In addition to the video, they offer some interesting facts about consumption.  For example, did you know that “[t]he average U.S. person now consumes twice as much as they did 50 years ago?”  Or, that “[e]ach person in the United States makes 4 1/2 pounds of garbage a day? That is twice what we each made thirty years ago.”  Definitely check out the project.  It will give you something to think about the next time you find yourself out shopping.

So what, you may ask,  does this have to do with a youngish couple who travel around the country in their shiny aluminum home? A lot.  In order to live this lifestyle we had to eliminate a lot of our “stuff.”  I’ve talked about this in previous blogs and the page that explains “Our Crazy Plan.”  Getting rid of stuff responsibly isn’t easy…not nearly as easy as acquiring it.  And, our recent trip back to our storage unit was not exciting but rather depressing.  Upon opening the storage unit door, we saw just how much stuff we still own.  While this all seemed like important items nine months ago, today the majority of it is now categorized into the “get rid of ASAP” pile.

On March 1, we mark our nine-month anniversary of life on the road.  We both agree that we have seen some amazing sights, met some incredible people, and grown closer through the experience.  But, primarily we agree that getting rid of our belongings and living a simpler lifestyle has been the most powerful change.   Here’s my bullet list of things that have had a positive impact on our lifestyle, and more importantly, the environment:

• We no longer walk out of Target with $100 worth of items that we don’t need.  (FYI:  My last blog was entitled “Attention Target Shoppers” and I would like for it to be known that my only purchases that night were Septic-safe toilet paper and some dark chocolate.  Obviously the toilet paper is a necessity…but I argue that so is the dark chocolate.)
• We no longer buy too many groceries that sit in our pantry well beyond the expiration date.  In fact, we seem to buy more fresh foods and have learned to carefully plan our meals out in advance so as to avoid multiple trips to the store.
• Our water consumption has decreased tremendously.  When you only have a 15 gallon gray water tank, you quickly learn how to use less water when washing dishes or brushing your teeth.  Showers are quick, even when they are in the campground’s bathrooms.  And, laundry…well I’m pretty cheap when it comes to using my quarters so laundry is only done once a week.  And, with less clothing in tow, we’ve learned that some things can be worn awhile before being considered “dirty.”
• And, while some people will emphasize our use of gas to tow our home, in the end I would say we still live a much more energy-efficient lifestyle. One of our intentions in this adventure was specifically to live more simply and lighten our environmental impact.  Having to buy a tow vehicle was one of the most difficult decisions.  If we could tow with a Prius we would.  However, there are not many high-efficient fuel options for vehicles capable of towing our home.  In the end, we settled on our Ford F150 and despite the admittedly horrendous gas mileage of the vehicle, we are very conscience of this fact and suspect that we drive less than the average commuter as we spend most of our time enjoying the campground life and as little time as possible driving.
• We live in 160 square feet so it takes little to heat and power our humble abode.  And, we grow tired of refilling our propane tanks so we are pretty stingy with our propane use.  Additionally, we recently began converting the few lights in our home to LED.
• And…then there’s recycling.  Chris once got into a fight with his college roommate after the roommate threw out the recycling into the garbage.  Needless to say, it’s a topic near and dear to Chris’ heart.  Because we do not have the luxury of curbside recycling pickup and sadly, many campground do not offer recycling options, we find ourselves making trips to various community recycling centers.  But, I’ll save that for a separate blog entry as that experience is worth more than a bullet-point.

It’s been an incredible lifestyle change and one that will continue with us long after our Airstream journey comes to an end.  I enjoy life so much more without the clutter and junk.  Don’t get me wrong, traveling the country and seeing what we’ve seen is amazing but so is this new sense of freedom from being owned and defined by our stuff.