Travels along the Gulf Coast

Hello friends,

I've traveled over to the Gulf coast of Florida to hang out for a bit. 

I left Clermont on January 10th and headed over to Clearwater.

I took Route 60 / The Courtney Campbell Causeway to get over to Sand Key Park in Clearwater. Courtney Campbell Causeway is a bridge stretching across old Tampa Bay from Tampa's Rocky Point Island to eastern Clearwater. It's approximately 9.9 miles long with two elevated bridge spans to allow watercraft to pass through. Wow! It was really awesome to drive on that, with the water surrounding me on both sides for such a long time.

I spent the afternoon at Sand Key Park. Ninety-five acres are located on Sand Key, which is a barrier island between the Gulf of Mexico and the Florida mainland. Clearwater Pass, leading from the Gulf to the Intracoastal waterway, separates the park from the busy resort area of Clearwater Beach. It was perfect for me, with a big parking area, and just a walk through the mangroves to the white sandy beach.

A pirate ship off Sand Key

 I stayed at a Boondockers Welcome residence in Clearwater for a couple of days.

It was a nice place. The owner, Sherrie, had a cool fishpond inside her house. She had a nice pool area outside, but said the fish would get grabbed by birds if she had them outside. I found two great coffee shops while I was there. One in Clearwater was called Southie Coffee. https://southiecoffee.com/ I liked the music items throughout the place. The other one was The Haus Coffee Shop, in Largo. It's advertised as' a lofty cafe with a rustic-chic vibe serving espresso-based drinks, pastries & casual fare.'

 . Both had their own unique character.

The indoor fish pond at my first Boondockers Welcome place

Southies Coffee in Clearwater. Loved it! 

Another great cafe in Clearwater, FL

I mentioned Boondockers Welcome in my previous post. 

Its a program where home/land owners who want to open their property to RVers to stay overnight or longer, create a profile on the BW website, and then RVers can reserve for 1-5 nights, depending on the property owner's desire. Both parties set up their  profiles so they can connect. Its a great way to meet people and help each other out. Love it!

Next I traveled up the coast to stay at another Boondockers Welcome home in Hudson for four days.

Mikie Gallagher was the host at this one, and he was such a great guy. Hes a medically disabled veteran who opens his home up to travelers. It has become an important part of his life, and I I felt very welcome there. I had such fun with his two little dogs (Bostie and Delta). I even had dinner with Mikie and friends in the house the first two nights, and on the last night I went out to dinner with Mike and his brother Tom. I went in the pool one morning. We were all going to go to a nearby shooting range for practice, but the range was full during the time it would have worked for us. Darn. Oh well.
Good people. A great experience for me..

Many egrets were near and on Mikie's property

Today I hit the road traveling southeast from Hudson toward Wachula.

 I passed through a road called Bellamy Brothers Parkway. Kinda cool. Not the road, just the name.
I will be settling in at a place called Peace River Campground tomorrow, and  plan to be there for about ten days. My friend Cheryl from Vermont is coming to visit. We are working on a project together and I'm looking forward to spending time hanging out with her.

I have started publishing articles on a platform called Medium.

If you get a chance to read them and  hit the clap button, and follow me if you're interested, it would be super awesome. It will help create a small income for me as I'm traveling.
Here are the links to the articles:

https://medium.com/@scapizzi36/my-year-of-changing-it-all-49e4443f794b?source=friends_link&sk=be3a7354c74d882c04699ed36647a371

https://medium.com/@scapizzi36/my-awesome-life-without-alcohol-72c0da166d7e?source=friends_link&sk=42c6aeff487e2a87a74b1ceccc4caa81

Lots of love to my family and friends up north.

Stefani

A different kind of Holidays for me

Me & Mom in Paris.(Just kidding)
 It's a mural at Jaqueline's)

No snow here. 

Sunny, palm trees, and beaches. My first holidays out of New England and it felt strange. I definitely found myself missing Vermont and my family. Different. I spent a few  days and a very quiet Christmas Eve in Indiatlantic with my mom. We hung out and had fun. I loved Jaqueline's Bakery and Cafe in Old Melbourne Beach Village.

I headed to Palm Coast on Christmas day.

I made it in time for dinner at my friend’s house. Andy made a spectacular dinner in English tradition, including the Yorkshire pudding, mincemeat pies, and a dessert called bakewell tarts. There were Christmas Crackers at each table setting, which                                                                     were fun to crack open! 

                                               Of course Andy helped me with a few little projects 
with Aretha. 

                                                   Thanks again Andy! And thanks Maura and Rachel for 

                                                 the afternoon espressos! That was great!.

Christmas Dinner

I visited St. Augustine for the second time in my life. 

Although it was brief, I really enjoyed walking through the village streets and seeing the Castillo de San Marcos again. St. Augustine is located on the east coast of Florida and is the oldest continuouslyinhabited European established settlement in the United States. If you haven’t been, I highly recommend it.

Castillo de San Marcos
Oldest and largest masonry fort  in U.S.A. (325 years old)

Oldest wooden schoolhouse in U.S.A. (318 years old)

I also visited Flagler Beach in Flagler, FL. 

The sand is cinnamon colored with limestone crystals and occasional Coquina rocks. They are soft rock formed by the accumulation of sediments (specifically limestone) found on the floor of the ocean or other bodies of water. Coquina rock is found only in the southern coast of the United States and in New Zealand.

Flagler Beach Pier

I spent New Year’s eve at a place called European Village in Palm Coast with my friends

 and some of their friends.

On January 2, I headed back to the Thousand Trails Orlando Park

I will be staying here until the 10^th. I’ve generally figure my way around this park now. I lost my way a few times the last time I was here. The perimeter is about two miles, which is a nice bike ride. Lots of great people. I stop and visit with people and get to pet dogs. I went to the karaoke/line dancing thing here the other night. The karaoke part was sometimes good and often funny. The line dancers were well practiced and in sync. Although I like the challenge, Its probably best for everyone if I just don’t try to join in...

Aretha and Yellow Bike going strong

I rode my bike to the clubhouse the other day.

 While I was inside, it began to downpour. Apparently it was expecting to rain for the next few hours. Bummer. I hadn’t checked the weather. A staff person lent me a rain cape and I ran out to the bike rack and brought yellow bike inside. They let me put it in a locked room until the storm was over. So nice of them. Then someone offered to give me a ride back to my place on the other side of the campground. Another person here took me to the store yesterday, and yet another neighbor came over to try to figure out my antenna connections in case I wanted local TV. That is just a snapshot. Everywhere I go, I continue to find very kind people and just what I need. It amazes me.

So far, most of the campgrounds I’ve been staying at are in the Thousand Trails network.

 I am a member of the Thousand Trails club, and it has been a great choice for me. The modest annual fee paid for itself by early November, so I’m literally staying at them for free now. I spend quite a bit of time researching different things, including how and where to stay for free while I’m traveling. I have generally figured out how to do it. The only place I have paid for so far was Ocean Breeze Resort at Jensen Beach, which was still 50 percent off because of another program I belong to. Perhaps it was a little splurge, but well worth it to me. State and national parks and a program called Boondockers Welcome are more options I plan to explore.

At the moment I have plans in Florida through the first week of February. From there I am working on a plan to head west toward New Orleans.

Good-bye for now, my friends.

Be well. Look for the good if you can. Remember that although there are many dark and difficult things out there, there is light and kindness too.

Stefani

More adventures in Florida

Hello all,

I'm still moving around in Florida,

It's been great seeing new places and meeting interesting people. The weather has been averaging sunny in the high 70's. In the past, my travels in Florida were fairly limited. This new life has wonderfully allowed me to experience many more areas!  I enjoyed staying at the Orlando RV Resort in Clermont. Most days I would work on writing during the morning hours, go for a walk or bike ride and to the pool during the middle of the day, and then back home to work on jewelry, music, and other things. Tough life I know.
 

Some of my jewelry

 I drove down to Juno Beach next 

I stayed overnight at a Walmart in Jupiter. I parked and hung out at Jupiter Beach Pier the next morning. It was breezy, beautiful and peaceful. The water temperature was 78.6 degrees Fahrenheit. Jeez now that is warm!

Jupiter Beach Pier

 Then I headed to Jensen Beach 

I stayed at Ocean Beach RV Resort for four days. Jensen Beach is an unincorporated community northeast of Stuart and southeast of Port St. Lucie. It was a nice place and I really enjoyed riding my bike around. It is such a great little seaside town. A quaint main street has a section called Maple Street Art Cottages, a group of sweet tin-roofed homes that have been converted into artists’ studios.

There's even a cafe called Bunkhouse Coffee Bar next to them. Of course I went in those shops and ended up at the cafe. I loved the wall of Pay It Forward at the cafe. A person can purchase an item on the menu and donate it to someone by putting it on a sticky note and putting it on the board.

.

Pay it forward at Bunkhouse Coffee Bar

 I rode along the seashore and over to the causeway, but it was so windy at the causeway that I decided not to ride over it. Maybe I was being a chicken, but whatever. On the main street, Crawdaddies Cafe and Raw Bar included live blues and jazz music, but sadly, I already missed the weekly evenings it happened.

Crawdaddy's

 I landed at  Dupuis State Park in Canal Point on the 19th. 

I was scheduled to stay there for four days, but decided to cut it short to meet my mom back in Indiatlantic, located next to Melbourne Beach.  I hope to get back there one day soon. I met a family of six living in a big white school bus. They let me walk around inside and interview them. A mom and dad and three older children recently hit the road in a school bus they converted into an amazing living space for the whole family. I spent an hour with them and learned a lot about their adventure. You can follow them on Facebook at Wanderfar-Bus.

Family living in a school bus

White school bus

     I am staying here in Indiatlantic for a few days, then  heading back to my friends in Palm Coast for Christmas week. Santa and Mrs.Santa passed us on a motorcycle yesterday. How funny!

Mr. and Mrs. Santa

      I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas with your loved ones. May you be surrounded by love and peace and good health.

    If you see any of my kids or grandchildren, please give them a hug and pass on a 'Merry Christmas' from me.

Holidays and stuff

Hello all,
It's been a quiet few days, as I'm now at Orlando RV Park for 10 days (even though it is in Clermont, not Orlando...)
I hope you've all had a nice Thanksgiving. I know it can be full of family, friends, and good food for some. 
It can also be painfully lonely and sad for others. I encourage you to reach out to those you know who may be struggling with this time of year. One gesture of kindness or a listening ear can make a big difference to someone. For me this was a little bittersweet, as it was the first Thanksgiving for the last seven years that I have not been a part of helping with the dinner at North Central Vermont Recovery Center in Morrisville, VT.  A big shout out to all of you up there at NCVRC. I was thinking of you on Thanksgiving day. 
I left the campground in Wildwood, FL on the November 26 and stayed with some dear old  friends on Palm Coast for a week. It's a beautiful area. I was grateful to share  their holiday time with them. These guys were a big part of my pre-teen and teenage years. Maura, the mom, let me stay at their house quite a lot back then. Rachel and I definitely got into our fair amount of trouble and heartbreak. Her sister Shelagh was just a little younger than us, and was hopefully not too scarred by our behavior and  influence...Just kidding Shelagh! Andy is Rachel's husband from England. Chopi is Shelagh's husband from India. He is one of the producers for the GOODNIGHT children's book series. I enjoyed the time with all of them very much.
 Their young boy Austin, and I, put on a little musical show for the Thanksgiving day entertainment and it was fun and funny! He's learning to play that harmonica!
Unfortunately I had a little mishap on the way over. This is kind of embarrassing, but hey the blog is not only about fun things, right? SO, I had stopped a gas station, which had a little smaller turn around than I'd prefer. (first mistake) I filled up with gas and pulled out to leave, taking a fairly sharp right turn. I was closer to the gas pumps than I should have been ( yup. second mistake) and my back drivers side corner got caught on the edge of the pillar. Yeah. That kind of sucked. I was quite mad at myself. I continued my trip to Rachel and Andy's. When I got there I had to take a better look at Aretha's injury. It wasn't good. I won't go into it, but the amazing Andy looked it over and proceeded to come up with a plan to seal it up for now. I decided not to take out an insurance claim.He did some (McGuiver) stuff and it is sealed up tight now. It should be safe to stay that way until next summer when I can perhaps get some Vermont helpers to look at it with me. So there's that. Andy also helped me with some scary trouble I had with my computer.  It seems that guy can figure out just about anything. Another angel in disguise.Thank you so much, Andy! 
I am uploading a video that Rachel took of my song The Bittersweet Truth to YouTube channel. If you check it out, please LIKE and SHARE! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_P3I6kROZzY
Well now I'm parked here for a little while working on some things and charting out where to go next. This is a big park, but I'm in a back corner near a lake. The sign at the lake says stay out of the water because of Alligators. Ok. I will. I have nooo problem with that. 
Until next time:

Thanksgiving appetizers by the pool

Me with Rachel and Shelagh

Solid temporary Bandaid for Aretha

Poor Aretha

At the lake at Orlando RV Park

Thanksgiving music with Austin

Wildwood Florida

Hi All. I’ve been at Three Flags Campground in Wildwood FL for over a week now. It has been a good time to catch up on some writing, organizing my thoughts, and researching ways to create income. It was pretty chilly here for several days, but is creeping back up to the high 70s. (Sorry my northern friends. I’m sure you are mentally throwing stuff at me right now.)

 I’ve had a couple of unusual music experiences here at the campground. One lady I met at ‘Coffee on the Porch’ hired me to sing at a three site yard sale last Saturday. I must say I’ve never sang at a yard sale before, but the price was right and it was actually pretty fun. The next day I played music with two other people at the church service here. I’m not a church person, but they asked me and I said yes.

I’ve had a surprise visit from Keith Williams over the weekend! He is heading west in a couple of weeks and I think he was just trying to find some sunshine and warmer temps. He was able to get a campsite in this park for some days and he is only two sites over from me. We’ve had some fun times together while he’s been here. He took me to a grocery store, which was helpful because I don’t have a vehicle unless I want to unhook Aretha. I just bring what I think I’ll need for the duration of my stay and that works out fine, but it’s been fun to get out and around town. We went to a Gator World Park and held, fed, and learned about alligators. I did not know they can live to be 80 years old and can go a whole year without eating. Wow! We played some music with another gentleman here and we’ve been playing some music together. Games of scrabble, playing pool, grilled salmon, waffles for dinner, and practicing some music, have been fun. He was teaching me how to play cribbage, and I was catching on, but we will have to get back to that another day - because he is gone now. Thanks KW for the fun times!

I plan to head to Palm Coast from here to spend Thanksgiving with a family I've known since 4th grade.

Baby alligator

Over 'n out.

cute goats there too (?)

Home at Wildwood

Keith and baby alligator

Us in front of 'Big Al'

Visiting Melbourne Beach

Hello All,

I arrived at Melbourne Beach, FL on October 25.

I spent approximately 2 weeks there, mostly helping my mom move out of her condo. Of all the places in my life, Melbourne Beach is a place I have visited since I was a small child. My grandparents had a house there as long as I can remember, until they passed away not long ago. We all called them Lolly and Papa. I have fond memories of times spent with extended family at their house. From their house you could walk a few blocks to the left in the early morning to watch the sunrise over the ocean, and then walk a few blocks to the right in the evening to the river to see the sunset. It’s a little unique that way.

It was great to spend time with and helping my mom, and I’m glad I am at a place in my life where I could just go do that. Mom and I then stayed at my aunt MaryAnn’s place in Indialantic for a week to finish organizing stuff. (Thank you MaryAnn for lending us your house!) I was grateful to be able to park Aretha in your driveway while I was there.)

I also got to visit with my aunt Grace Ann a few times. I’m not sure we’ve ever spent much time hanging out before, and it was great to spend time with her. She’s so funny. I rode my bike around the area several early mornings and that was cool. I think the bike needs a name. It’s bright yellow. Any suggestions?

I came across some animal friends during my time there. 

On the back porch of my mom’s condo were two squirrels that were always hanging around. They would eat peanuts right out of our hand. They cracked me up, and I must say I’ve not had that experience before. The only morning I went to the sunrise at the beach across from the condo, I met some bird friends. Sandpipers running at the water as it receded, then running to safety as it rolled back to shore. Over and over. And over. There was a tall heron standing there who let me get pretty close, but wasn’t much interested in conversation. Oh well. He looked like he had a pretty suspicious nature anyway. Later in southern Florida I met what I think was a bearded dragon or iguana. I'm not sure what they are. He was many shades of orange and quite impressive, yet creepy. I’m not judging, but…ya. You’ll see the picture below. There were a few others of them, but he/she was the biggest.

I had some work done on Aretha while I was there. My refrigerator stopped working. Not good. I did not know how to fix it, so I brought her to a doctor to have that and a few other things checked out. The fridge actually ended up needing a whole new mother board. That was costly indeed, but pretty necessary to my life on the road. 

GraceAnn introduced me to a man named Terry Shaw.

He had RVs for many years and loves to work on them. He also went to school for RV (maintenance). I couldn’t believe my luck! I brought Aretha over more than once, and he answered my many questions and taught me so much. He is a retired from the military and seemed to really enjoy the time helping me with it. We visited and had coffee and talked RV. His knowledge and experience helped me so much, and I’m grateful for this new friend that I will hopefully see again one day. Thank you Terry!

Next I gave mom a ride to Miami, and then met with someone I am working with who is going to open a mental health recovery center down there. We had coffee (notice any pattern here?) and breakfast at a great place called MyRoots Juice Bar. Delicious! I was in the area for less than 24 hours.

From there I drove up to Wildwood, FL 

I've landed at a wonderful campground (Three Flags Camping Resort) where I plan to stay for the next week (or two). I arrived two nights ago. Phew! I must say I’m really glad for some quiet time to read, write, play music, and create art. I have already met some really nice people here. They even have ‘Coffee on the Porch’ every morning at 8am! I mean, how awesome is that? Right? I know I have a tribe out there who would agree…

Well okay, until next time – Be well and take care of yourselves. Live in the solution and look for the good. It is everywhere.

And if any of you see my kids or grand kids, PLEASE give them a hug from me.

Mom and Stef at the pier

Bearded dragon near Miami

Feeding squirrel

Sunset Melbourne Beach

Sunrise Melbourne Beach

This guy 

Morning bliss

Continuing on...

Hello again,

Since my last blog post, I have been to Charlotte, NC, The Oaks at Point South campground in Yemassee, South Carolina for a night, and then headed to Melbourne Beach. I arrived here last night.

I met up with Keith Williams (aka Papa Greybeard) in Charlotte. He drove down from Vermont in his vintage Volkswagen bus! It was the first leg of his journey of traveling and living out on the road in his bus. How awesome. We are good friends fellow musicians and it was great to see him again!

When I left Black Mountain last Sunday, I decided to check out this nearby 5.00 campground that Keith told me about. Curtis Creek Campground. Good lesson for me. The road to it was 5 curvy miles long through the woods, with the road getting more and more narrow. Then it turned to dirt. Then it became one lane. Then, there was a little one lane bridge. Hmm. There I was, alone, nervous about Aretha meeting this little one car bridge in the middle of nowhere, and I couldn’t back up. There were no weight limit signs posted so - I drove over it. We lived! Then I looked at my phone and realized I had no service out there. I wasn't feeling great about this. Suddenly, voila! A wonderful little turn around appeared before my very eyes! So what did I do? I turned us around and headed back out the way we came.  Lesson: Perhaps do a little more research before I go driving into unknown campgrounds. I found a Pilot flying J to sleep at that night.

It was great to meet up with Keith for a few days. We did not play music, but I did get to meet his twin daughters and their children – and we took a trip to Asheville.

On the way to Asheville, Keith wanted to check out Curtis Creek Campground because he thought he would be staying there sometimes. I told him about my harrowing(  ) experience there, but this time we were in his VW bus. We drove all the way in to the camping area, (which included two more one lane bridges) and then up and up and up this mountain on a rough road cut through the forest. I’m not sure how long we kept going up and around this way, but we never did get to the top. We finally turned around and headed back down. The VW got a workout that day! Keith is going to hike it soon and let me know what is at the top. He says it might be a vintage clothing store, and I’ll be really sorry I missed out. (I love vintage clothing stores. wink)

Asheville was a nice place. Not as active as I imagine it is during the summer. We walked around for a while and ate dinner at a funky place called the Aux Bar that a juggler on the street recommended. We talked to one street musician, to ask about busking rules etc. I plan to get back there, but I'm not sure when yet.

While I was in Charlotte, I slept at a Walmart that was 2.5 miles away from the Charlotte Motor Speedway and could hear the cars racing around the track.

I left Charlotte on Thursday the 25^th and stayed at a Thousand Trails campground (The Oaks at South Point) for the night and then headed toward Melbourne Beach, FL to visit my mom. For those of you who don’t know, my mom lived in and traveled in a big class A motorhome for 9 years in her 60’s and into her 70's. An inspiration perhaps? I think that's a yes. I arrived here last night. Mom and I have traveled together many times over the years. It will be good to catch up with her again.

At the Georgia line on the way here I pulled over at a rest area that was the Savanna History Museum. I found Forrest Gump sitting on a bench with his box of chocolates in there! It was a real life replica, and I should’ve taken a picture- but alas, I’ve got to get better at this picture taking thing…

Aretha and The Bike

In Asheville with Keith Williams

Keith's VW bus ready to go