Libations: The Libators go Corner to Corner: Going Down South

From Tennessee, we turned directly south and drove through Georgia. I've never seen any part of Georgia except the airport, which I am way too familiar with. My first impression is favorable, the roads are nice and the people are nicer. We stop for lunch at a Mexican restaurant in Clayto, and stay the night at a Harvest Host in Fort Valley. No fuss, no issues.

We crossed into Florida and continued south to Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park, where we stayed for one night. I could have stayed longer. This was a fantastic overnight. Lots of hiking trails, wildlife watching, great bathrooms and showers, super quiet, private, and dark. We kept moving south, though, and made it to Parrish, Florida, where we've been staying in my Aunt and Uncle's driveway. I've enjoyed visiting with them and seeing the local tourist sites.

Georgia fields.

Lane Southern Orchards Market.

Pecans for sale.

Cotton ready for harvest.

Frog on a frond.

Paynes Prairie Preserve.

Tree canopy above camp.

Me and my Aunt.

Family dinner.

The Sunshine Skyway Bridge, Tampa Bay, FL.

The Dome at the Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, FL.

Russ walking on St. Pete's Pier.

Pelican in flight.

The marina.

Sunset from the Sunshine Skyway.

MOTE Science Education Aquarium.

The Manatee. I think this one is called Jimmy Buffett.

Georgia is beautiful. We were in rural areas, and skirted around larger cities. We stayed at probably the last Harvest Host in the southern portion of our trip at Lane Southern Orchards in Fort Valley, Georgia. Probably the last because it is now hot enough that we need to plug in the AC for Cedar (and us, too). Lane Southern Orchards had a nice market where I spent too much, and the Peach Tree Cafe where we had a serviceable dinner. We were in a large parking lot with several other RVs, close to the busy road, under bright lighting. So yeah, not too restful. Still, I did enjoy the store and cafe. It's such a weird life, to chose a place to stay online, and then really experience it. Mostly, the reviews tell us what to expect, but it doesn't always match MY expectations.

I missed the Welcome to Georgia sign and only got this truck ramp.

We ate at a nice find, La Cabana in Clayto, GA

Veggie fajitas.

The green corridor.

What I expected for all of Georgia.

What I got. Pecan orchard.

No idea what this is, but we saw a lot of it.

Lane Southern Orchards Market.

Pecans for sale.

BBQ Chicken for Russ and Fish Sandwich for me.

The parking lot at sunset.

After our one stop in Georgia, we crossed into Florida and found a spectacular state park to stay in: Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park. The sites were big and separated from each other by trees and vegetation. The bathrooms and showers were great, too. Plus, we did one of their loop trail hikes and went up the observation platform (3 stories high!) to get some photos. Hook ups, quiet, dark, with great hiking, I'm sorry I only scheduled one night here.

Last meal in Georgia. The okra was delish.

10/10 would recommend.

Welcome to Florida.

No parking!

Paynes Prairie Preserve.

The main trail.

Green frog on a green leaf.

Horses on the prairie.

Shadow of the forest.

At the top of the tower.

The nice people you meet who take your photo together.

Loop trail.

Didn't get one in focus. American Beautyberry.

These were neat.

The two trails we walked.

Sun on a small branch of fall color.

Halloween decor in the campground.

This was the camp host's site.

Looking straight up from our campsite.

The watcher.

We left Paynes Prairie Preserve and drove south to park in the driveway of my Aunt and Uncle's house in Parrish, Florida. We stayed for four nights (three days of sight-seeing) and had a lovely visit. We just did one main thing every day, and spent every evening visiting and enjoying family. The first day was our day in St. Petersburg. We went to the Dali Museum in its new home. I saw it once before, in 2011. They have such an amazing collection, and the new building really showcases it. Since we were already downtown, we took the trolley to St. Pete's Pier and had a nice lunch at Doc Ford's Rum Bar and Grille, which is a good distance down the pier. Russ and I walked out to the end and got some nice views. The trolley got held up for our trek back to the car because of a University soccer match, so we walked the 0.8 miles back to the museum parking lot along the waterfront. I enjoyed that, too, but it was difficult for my Aunt and Uncle; they were troopers to get it done!

Our second day was devoted to getting the chores done. Laundry, grocery shopping, cleaning up the trailer, and using a very strong wi-fi signal to get some computer things done, like trip planning and blogging. We also bought tickets for our third day activity.

I think we look related.

Eggplant casserole with green salad and bread. So good.

The glorious Sunshine Skyway Bridge.

The Disintegration of the Persistence of Memory.

Three Young Surrealist Women Holding in Their Arms the Skins of an Orchestra.

Eggs on the Plate Without the Plate.

Gala Contemplating the Mediterranean Sea which at Twenty Meters Becomes the Portrait of Abraham Lincoln.

Beautiful Dome,

The architecture of this building was on point.

There was a gallery of Dali inspired murals.

I Am Drugs. Lots of Dali details in this one.

I thought this was funny.

The Dali Museum.

The St. Pete's Trolley

Going for a ride.

There was a lot of public art in St. Petersburg.

Mojito at the Rum Bar.

Nice views all around.

Russ appreciates the views.

Shrimp and cheese grits with squash and beans.

Lots of folks enjoying the late fall weather on Tampa Bay.

Walking the St. Pete's Pier.

More public art.

Looking back at the city.

Pelican in flight.

Aunt and Uncle at rest.

Sign left over from the No Kings rally earlier that day.

Walking the waterfront back to our parked car.

The back of the sign is always more interesting to me.

Sailing club reflections.

Boats moored in the marina.

The outside of the Dali Museum.

Sunset from the Sunshine Skyway.

Second day chores made me feel more prepared. It's nice to get the R-Pod cleaned up. This trip will end up being about 9 weeks long, so I have to do the laundry about 6 times. The fridge needs restocking about once per week, too. No pictures of the shopping or laundry, however. I'll try to remember next time.

Rocco's Tacos menu made choosing difficult.

Another Mojito. Cheers.

Table side fresh guacamole.

Loved the spicy salsas!

Everything was so good.

Rocco's had nice outdoor seating.

The MOTE didn't have any open slots when we got there.

Our tickets for the next day..

Threatening clouds.

On our last day in Parrish, we drove in the other direction, toward Sarasota and the MOTE Science Education Aquarium. It specializes in animal rescue, especially for sea turtles and manatees, but is also researching corals to find and develop species that are tolerant of warmer water to save the reefs from global warming. The MOTE did have traditional displays, but really focused on the different local marine ecosystems. I was impressed. The overall building also looks like a big ship; seeing that was fun, too. After our morning visit to MOTE, we went to brunch at Station 400, a restaurant nearby. One last dinner at my Aunt and Uncle's house of lobster-stuffed sole and we were tucked in the R-Pod.