Traveling with Jon, Adrienne and Toby

 Our first stop was MacDonald Forest Hill Resort just outside of Aberfoyle, Scotland.  MacDonald Forest Hill Resort is beautiful and old.  The only problem was that there was one (and only one) taxi driver in Aberfoyle and he was usually busy. Getting around was a challenge.  We tried to hike up to the top of Ben Venue mountain but it was so muddy we had to turn around.  As much as we liked the resort, we decided to move our stay Edinburgh so that we could get around more easily. 

Stirling Castle is a medevil castle which dates back to  1530AD.  We enjoyed exploring the grounds around the castle, especially the Church of the Holy Rude and the connected cemetery.   Most of the gravestone are from the First and Second World Wars but some of them date back to 1680 AD.  Quite a find!  After visiting the castle and the palace, we made our way back to the pub at Portcullis.  Such a great place to relax among locals and drink whatever beer they are pouring. 

We are getting ready for our epic journey across America to the Floriday Keys.  Along the way we will visit Memphis, Nashville, Smoky Mountains, Congaree, St Augustine, Key Largo, Key West, Sarasota, St Petersburg, Pensacola, New Orleans, Vicksburg, Hot Springs and then home again.  Just me, Adrienne and Toby, our dog.

On our day in Memphis, we visited our friend Drayton Mayers, owner of TeamLogic IT of Memphis and hike over the Mississippi River.  Toby enjoyed the Shelby Farm Dog Park although, we did not get any pictures of him in the dog park because it is 44 acres and we had no clue where he was!  We finally found him running around in one of the two lakes.  We had a great time and Memphis will be a regular stop for us on our way to Nashville to see Megan and Cody. 

 March 7th & 8th:  Megan is with us and we are visiting Gatlinburg & Pigeon Forge and hiking some of the trails at the park.  It was overcast most of the time and since it is early March, there are no leaves on the trees so things look pretty sparse... until you get in the backwoods where the mosses, fungi and flowers are all very colorful.  Toby was boarded at the Loving Care Kennel and the owner really enjoyed having Toby there.  If you like this video, don't forget to subscribe on YouTube and you can follow us on this website.  BreakAwaySolutions.net. 

March 10th 2022 Adrienne, Toby and I  headed to Congaree in central South Carolina.  Congaree is the largest track of old growth, bottom land hardwood forest left in the United States.  It is in the flood plane of 2 rivers and, as you can imagine, quite damp and usually covered in water.  We had a great time exploring the trails, wading through bogs and dodging raindrops.  This is one of the dog friendly national parks so Toby had a blast... especially with we saw a small pack of wild pigs cross our path on the Kingsnake Trail.   Unfortunately, we didn't get pictures of this encounter.
 

 We left Titusville and drove down to the Florida Keys.  Finally!  We stayed at Calusa RV Resort from March 17 through Mar 22, 2022.  While we were there we visited Biscayne NP, Everglades NP and John Pennekamp Coral Reef SP.  We also took advantage of the Calusa Pool and paddling our Kayak around the resort and mangrove lagoon where we were joined by a salt water Crocodile and small pod of Manatees.  Life is Good!
 

 We really loved our time on Key West.  There is so much to do and see and the town is alive with tourists and locals all doing their thing.  While the diving is not great in the Keys, we hired a guide to take us inside the USS Vandenberg which was really cool!  The food, the fish, the Stone Crab and the Key Lime Pies are to die for... Really!  While I would not go back to Key Largo (and neither would Toby), I would love to go back to Key West and spend several weeks.  Life is good! 

 Downtown Sarasota is a great place to hang out and enjoy the gulf waters life.  We met our good friends, Brian and Cathy Bonacci from TeamLogic IT.  We got to go shopping at Detwiler's Farm Market which was the most amazing grocery store I've ever seen.  Worth a stop if you are ever in town.  We also visited St. Petersburg where Toby got to play at the dog park and  walk in the dog parade (only the wrong way).  We also visited beautiful St. Pete's Pier.  I wish we had more time to visit. 

 We visited Vicksburg, MI mostly to see the Vicksburg Military Park which is a memorial to the men who fought in the Civil War at the battle of Vicksburg.  This was an important battle because if the Union Army won, they would control the shipping lanes on the Mississippi River and cut the Confederacy in two.  It was a heart wrenching tour of the battle grounds and seeing the National Cemetery at the end was a stark reminder of the brutality of the Civil War and the men that died defending our freedom and way of life. 

AW, her Mom, and I teamed up with Charlie and Joanie for a 3 week adventure.  This segment is all about the drive on I-70 over the Rockies.  You'll get to go through the Eisenhower Tunnel and see our setup at the Slickrock Campground (which I would not recommend)

This national park has so much to offer.  If you are a hiker, there are many trails that you can access that have some of the most sweeping vistas imaginable.  We spent most of our time in the Islands In The Sky which is a huge mesa overlooking the Colorado and Green Rivers.  Someday we will go back to visit the Needles and the Maze.  

I really wanted to see this National Monument and it did not disappoint!  It is rugged but majestic.  Definitely a keeper!  One of my favorite parts was Upper Dry Fork Trail which takes you through Peek-A-Boo & Spooky Gultch.  Make sure you have the trail loaded into All-Trails or some other hiking App.

The first stop of our journey was Santa Fe.  It is a quaint and beautiful tourist town just south of the New Mexico border.  We stayed at the Santa Fe Skies RV Park and hike the Dale Ball trail in the mountains that surround the town.  Lunch at the Shed was a wonderful meal and experience.  It's just too bad that a lot of the museums and shops were closed due to Covid.  Santa Fe is definitely a place worth going back to especially since it is days drive from our house.

 After leaving Petrified Forest and Painted Desert, AW and I headed south to Tucson to see Uncle Dick and visit Saguaro National Park.  I didn't realize but there are two sections to Saguaro...the west side where the Sonoran Desert Museum is located and the east side where nothing is located but there are many cool trails.  The two sides are separated by about 40 miles and the city of Tucson.  The sunsets and sunrises were fabulous! 

 Our fifth stop on the Tour of Arizona was The Grand Canyon.  We stayed in the Trailer Village RV Park which is centrally located near the Grand Canyon Village.  We were there for about 3 full days which gave us time to explore the topside, do the Rim Trail and hike down into the Bright Angel Trail (but not all the way down).  I have a segment in this video where I give you my perspective on hiking the Bright Angel Trail.  The night before we left it snowed about 4-6 inches.  This made towing the RV out of the park just that much more fun!