Home Free Global Nomads: Back on the Road June 2020

We leave Vitambi Springs after saying our goodbyes to Roger and Vince, Carlos and Martin.  We will be back to the campground in the future.

We had to go to Walmart to purchase a new coffee maker.  We walked in with masks and gloves, made our purchase and left.

Our appointment is for Tuesday Gerzeny's, we spent Monday night at our friends, David and Lair's house parked in the driveway.  We met them at Vitambi, enjoying their company. We finally have full solar operational on the rig, Keith and I had to finish the wiring.  After 4 hours of work we have dinner with Greg.

We go back to our home on wheels and call it a night.  We are parked in at the back entrance of Gerzeny's to allow the adhesive to cure.

Our last sunrise over the Lake for a while

Keith and I after dinner

We woke the next morning and decided to head out of Fort Myers. We had planned to stay longer and visit here but with the COVID numbers increasing here, we set off to the Florida Roomies.  They have been quarantined for months, it is always say being with Josh and JP.

We ended up staying with Josh and JP for 8 days. Great conversations, movies, walks and catching up on life.  We did have dinner with Scott and James one evening with fresh sourdough flatbread. We tried to make the sourdough bread in the bread matter but it was a brick, Scott had given us the starter while in Vitambi Springs.

We leave Josh and JP on 10Jun destination Serenity Acres Farms in Pinetta, FL. The trip was easy heading west towards the coastline of Florida then northwards on the back roads.  We could have been there in 2 hours but missed out on naturally preserved areas and old Florida towns.

Keith was working with Partners In Health for contract tracing while I drove through little known areas of Florida. We both were exited to drive back through Live Oak, we were here for the RV Rally with RVillage in February.

Serenity Acres Farms was our first Harvest Host. We joined this community to give us alternative places to stay and camp, safely off the beaten path and find interesting people and places for a night or a couple of nights.

We found that at Serenity Acres, Julia was formerly from Germany and actually lived in Düsseldorf.  The Germany connection continues to grow no matter where we are.  Julia and her husband, Wayne run a goat farm. They sell goat products at local farmer's market and online.  We thoroughly enjoyed the visit. We met some of the wonderful people that work at the farm from communities like WOOF and Work Away.

Dandelion and Joe stopped by the rig and invited us over for a campfire by their cabin.  They had been on the farm for 5 months. So we stopped over and chat until late in the night. We enjoyed their company.

One of the Nubien bucks by us

Saanen goats are the largest breed of dairy goat

Path from the rig to the bucks and bucklings (adolescent males)

Had to take this photo for the color

Adolescent Nubien bucklings running toward me to get pet

Our home fo the evening, this is serenity!

Capturing the setting sun in reflection

Sun dances in the tree and air plants above us

Pick me up, too!, two baby bucks. So cute

Julia took these photos of us with the baby goats, Crumble and Cricket

Cabin where Dandelion and Joe stay, tranquility and peaceful.

We took our time in the morning, relaxing with the staff before to head off towards Alabama. We purchased some pleasant soaps from goat milk, Yogurt and milk for breakfast cereal.  We watched the goats get milked with care.  Serenity Acres Farms is the home of the Happy Goats.  (https://www.serenitygoats.com).  We felt welcome thoroughly enjoyed our connection with Julia and Serenity Acres Farm...we will return to visit again.

While walking to the rig from the barn I caught site of this interesting creature and entered it on iNaturalist, this is  a Zummara smaragdula. Found in northern Central American and South America from Costa Ric to Bolivia.

I created a stir on iNaturalist as this species is not usually found this far north but with the storms coming from the south it could have been caught up in the winds or was caught in a plant imported to FL.

We take a later than expected start on the day, Keith started driving at 10:50 am but he needed to get set up for work which started at 11:30, we stopped at the end of the driveway. Once we had good cell the GPS kicked in and off we go to Alabama.

Sweet Home Alabama indeed....reminds me of the Lynyrd Skynyrd song.

While traveling on Rt 231 through the countryside of southern Alabama, we had a sensor go off and felt a jerking motion with the rig. Luckily we we 5 miles from a Mercedes Benz dealer in Dothan, that took us in to do the repair. It was an ESP (speed sensor that knocked out the cruise control and ABS brakes).  We appreciated the speed and understanding that we live full time in the RV.  We were socially distancing in the waiting room and back on the road within a couple of hours.

Once we were back on the road, our sights were on Corbin Farms Winery in Calera, AL.  Our second Harvest Host, that evening they were open until 21:00.  We arrived at 19:00, just in time to order food and have a glass of wine.  We were impressed with this small winery, open air seating with more than enough space between tables and guests. The servers wore masks and gloves.  There was live music and a beautiful sunset.

Serenity Farms Acres, Pinetta, FL to Corbin Farms Winery Calera, AL

We ordered our food and drinks, after driving 337 miles we made it (5hr 33 min driving and 2.5 hours at the dealer)

Our selfie with the sun and the old truck

Corbin Farms Winery all a glow

Spacious seating and social distancing, you can see our table in the corner

Nice touch with old pick-up truck and casks

Good morning Corbin Farms Winery

Next stop Joe Huber's Family Farm in Starlight, IN.

Going through Kentucky, we made a pit stop to see Mary-Lee and Richard in Louisville before heading up into Indiana. We were 40 minutes from the next Harvest Host. We arrived on time for dinner before the kitchen closed.  The dining room only had on table with guests and we were quite a distance away.  The server was wearing a mask and gloves, took our order and it felt like minutes had our food on the table.  The fried chicken was recommended and was well worth it.  We could not finish our meal and took it back with us.

The settled in by the 'lake' with a peaceful view of the property. We walked around some and saw the sunset over the property before we settled in for the evening.  Another good Harvest Host experience.

Entrance to the farm and parking lot

Lake on the far side of the property

Sunset with shadows over the lake

Up early and ready to head to our final destination on this trip, Alto, MI to see Gram.  We have covered a lot of the count going on back roads and off the usual track, it has been worth it.  

Starlight, IN to Alto, MI

We arrived in Alto on 14Jun, traveling fairly quick over 4 days from Orlando, FL.  We went though 5 states on this trip (FL, AL, TN, KY & IN).  We plan to stay in Michigan to finalize some unfinished business then hope t be back on the road for our reservations in July.

Our GearSpace 34 from let's go aero arrived early, we place the onto Untethered after washing her.  The GearSpace will soon be home to two bikes.

When I can, I am still capturing things of interest like this Twelve-spotted Skimmer

Our new GearSpace34 that we attached to the home on wheels

With COVID19 hitting the US, we have taken a break from travel as the pandemic has increased in the Southwest and the Rocky Mountain States.  The new storage unit is now on.  We did take a day trip with Gram to South Haven but other than to the store and back, we have played lots of cards, Keith worked until the 26Jul before being laid-off and walking daily.

Washed, waxed, cleaned interior and storage unit attached...ready to hit the road

South Haven Lighthouse, Lake Michigan wind and waves

Made our first sourdough bread, thanks to Scott and James for the pointers

Some random photos taken on the loop walk from the house and back:

We have reached the end of the month of June, the month has flown by since leaving Clewiston, FL and heading here to West Michigan.  We do not know when we will hit the road, we do have reservations at Glacier National Park but it does not look promising with COVID on the rise in Montana too.