Summary
We left Ontario on Oct 13, 2009 and crossed into the states at the Buffalo border. Our only plan for this trip was our 2nd house sitting job for Mike in Andee in Costa Rica. We were scheduled to fly out of Orlando on Feb 16, 2010 so until then, we wanted to explore the east coast of the US and stay as warm as possible.
Managed to avoid a big winter storm in NY and Pennsylvania, spent some time hiking in Shenandoah National Park in Virginia and got addicted to oysters while staying at the oceanfront in that state. Did a quick house sit in North Carolina and then spent quite a bit of time South Carolina. Discovered Huntington Beach state park and explored Charleston. If you ever get the chance to walk around its historic district, GO! It’s gorgeous. Toured around Savannah, Georgia as well, nice, but we prefer Charleston.
Made it Florida on Dec 14 and just 10 miles from our first stop in Fort Clinch State park on Amelia Island, the trailer blew a tire. Thankfully Dave managed to fix it alright and we got settled in for a 6 week stay in the state. Decided to take up ocean fishing since we were going to be there for that long and it quickly became our favourite way to pass the time and occasionally catch some awesome dinners.
Spent the holidays in Cape Canaveral but man it was chilly. That trend continued for most of this stay in Florida, record breaking cold even as we made our ways south in to the Keys and the Everglades. It went below 32 F for quite a few nights…crops were damaged by frost, dying and dead fish littered the beaches and iguanas were so cold they were dropping out of trees.
Caught up with family spending the winter in Fort Myers for a week before heading back to Orlando to fly to Costa Rica on Feb 16, 2010. That’s all documented in a separate blog if you’re interested.
Returned to the states on March 26th to the kind of weather you expect in Florida, warm and sunny! Thank God! Checked out the Florida panhandle before heading north and fell in love with St. George’s Island State park. We’ll be back to spend more time there on a future trip.
Spent some time in Prattville, Albama with my cousin Tom and family before crossing back into Canada on April 28, 2010. Lived at Sue and Paul’s cottage in Grand Bend in the spring and did a bunch of renos there for them. Bought a new to us Ford F350 diesel truck to haul our new to us 38ft toy hauler. Moved up to Powassan in Northern Ontario for 2.5 months to house and cat sit before heading south again in October.
If you’re interested in the details of this trip, check out our BLOG and ALBUMS.
