Well. Who knew?
After our water hoses froze on our first day out, then thankfully thawed 24 hours later, we began to suspect that our vanlife adventures would be amplified by the meteorologic madness that had descended onto the Southeastern US. The original plan was to make our way to Jekyll Island, spending three nights in different campgrounds on the way, then camping there for seven nights. That would have been our longest time in one campground, so we were excited for that experience, especially in such a beautiful natural environment rich with wildlife, hikes, and bike rides. I was looking forward to celebrating my birthday on the island. That Debbie and Michael were going to be meeting us there was the icing on the metaphoric birthday cake!
All of those plans have gone out the window, the same window that lets too much cold air inside Vanda when it is opened! We were able to stay at the campgrounds at which we had made reservations for the first two nights, and although it was so very cold outside, we were toasty warm and cozy inside our van. We ate well and we even hiked in below-freezing temps, managing to see some winter birds.
We had to wait until noon-ish on our second morning so that the sun could soften the ice on the steep road out of the campground–2.5 miles of steep windy blacktop to get to the highway. We had already been called by the campground for that night, being told it was closed due to 8 inches of snow–the first snow in that part of southern Georgia in decades! We made it to the highway, after a few dicey icy curves in the road, when we took stock of our situation to explore options for Plan B.
Most campgrounds south of us had openings due to cancelled reservations by folks who were either hesitant to leave home or sane enough to stay home, allowing us to find a site further south in Georgia. Snow and ice covered the ground, it was very cold, but there were numerous birds foraging for seeds and bugs. Amazingly, bugs were available to the Carolina Wrens, Woodpeckers, and the Pine and Yellow-rumped Warblers, as they pulled back tree bark to gorge on the insects burrowed there. Survivors!
We continued to head south yesterday morning, on our way to Jekyll Island. We received a call mid-morning telling us that the entire island was without power due to an ice storm — the campground was closed. Another Plan B was being called into action!
More blessings were bestowed upon us as there were sites available at Anastasia State Park in St. Augustine. We’ve been here many times over the years but just for day trips, as typically this campground is full; again because sane folks stayed home, there were a few sites available! The forested campground is marvelous, our site is nestled way back into the trees, and we are right on the Atlantic Ocean.
Today is my birthday! 67 years old! I am truly blessed with an abundance of love, mindfulness, friendships, family, non-stop adventures, and the presence of my true love and soulmate, John. He went off early, as usual, to photograph the sunrise, while I chose to stay warm in Vanda, and to “bake” myself a birthday cobbler for later today. The sun has warmed to air to 43 degrees at 10 AM; we’re planning a bike ride in the early afternoon when the temp will rise to a balmy 50 degrees!
One last thing, dear readers. I will likely not go back to FB except to say my goodbyes and to sign off. I am not 100% decided yet, as I really do appreciate that platform for the shared joy, photos, events, and calls to action that land there. What I wonder though is do you mind, as a reader, to see all of these photos embedded into the blog post? I so enjoy sharing John’s photos, and while this format will not take the place of the sharing I did on FB (zillions of photos posted there!), if I could share a few via this blog without bombarding you all, I would consider that. Please email or text me with your feedback regarding the number of photos in this post/mailchimp email as I navigate my next steps. Thank you for reading! xo
