As twilight began to creep across the yard, the feeling of ominous anticipation began to fall, along with 5 inches of snow. The family was so excited to start our journey into the unknown, but how could we leave with a winter storm upon us. This wasn't the start we were hoping for...
Undeterred by some weather, we set off from our home in Michigan to head south for a few months. The drive through Michigan was sketchy with snow covered roads and wind gusting over what I was comfortable with, but being new to towing a 5th wheel travel trailer, I was naïve to what we were getting into.
Once we entered Ohio, the roads cleared, the sky turned a beautiful blue and the journey started to fall into the pattern of what we had dreamed of. We talked, listened to digital books (the kids currently celebrate the entire Ramona Quimby Anthology by Beverly Cleary), and just enjoyed the journey.
Our first night on the road was also our first ever boondocking experience. Boondocking is where you are allowed to stay free on someone else's property. Through the organization Boondockers Welcome, we connected with a great host family in Southern Indiana. Unfortunately, a family emergency forced the host family to leave town suddenly, but they generously offered to still host us. We parked on their huge driveway, and were able to use the power connection they offered to us for the night. They also generously offer to allow us to use their huge hot tub that night, which we graciously accepted. But we didn't consider the fact that once in the hot tub, we would need to get 'out' of the hot tub in 15 degree weather and an long sprint back to the camper. But it made for amazing memories.
The host family also had an assortment of animals on the property which we all found fascinating. Among the chickens, turkeys, sheep, and dogs was a peacock. An amazing live peacock in all of its majesty. What we didn't know is that peacocks do much of their calling around 4:30am... but we soon learned exactly what a peacock sounds like. It was well worth the price of admission, though!
One thing that didn't go as planned was that our camper broke while at the boondock site. There we were in the middle of nowhere in someone's driveway who was in another state, and the landing gear of our 5th wheel just stopped working. Through a lot of research and a LOT of prayer, we figured out that a loose battery connection caused the fuse to blow. Amazingly, I had a spare fuse in the glove box of my truck that I probably purchased 20 years ago and never used. Providence was upon us!
Day 2 of our travels took us another 500 miles (more) to an RV park just south of Memphis, TN. In this non-descript little town, we hunkered down for the night to rest up for the final leg of our journey. But with every mile we traveled, the cold and snow was getting farther behind us.
Day 3 found us arriving in Convent, LA which is in the heart of plantation country of Louisiana. We stayed at the Poche' Plantation RV Park, which is built on the only Poche' Plantation grounds. With cathedrals, cemeteries, and the Mississippi River to explore, we are spending a week in Cajun country to learn about this history of this beautiful area. We watched the SuperBowl from the camper and were thankful for this amazing opportunity to be here.
With 1200 miles under our belt as newbie RV travelers, we are excited to see where the road takes us next!
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