Greetings from the Top of Georgia! A Recap of our first 5 days!

Hello family and friends - 

Our last morning in Naples as I was sitting on the lanai enjoying my coffee and newsletters, this was the daily quote:

How timely!  😃💗

I type this from the Top of Georgia Airstream Park - we are so happy to be back here (as mentioned before, we were here last 4th of July).  This time, we are with the South Florida Airstream Club - there are about 40 of us here (20 Airstreams) and we have met so many fun people.  This event is called a Rally and we'll be here for the week with some planned activities and time to explore this amazing area.  

Let me back up . . .  We left Naples this past Wednesday.  We brought the Airstream to our house for the 2 days prior as it made it so much easier to get everything loaded on and packed - clothes, toiletries, food, etc.  And it gave Paul a chance to give her a bath!

 

Our first stop on Wednesday night was the Sarasota Fairgrounds - we joined 3 other Airstream rigs from the South Florida Airstream club there as we started the 3-day caravan to the Top of Georgia - each night boondocking.  Boondocking essentially means camping in an area without any hookups (power, water, or sewer) and thanks to all the upgrades Paul orchestrated, we were well prepared for the 3-day journey without any resources other than what was on our rig (full water tank, and batteries/solar power).  We made fast friends with the 3 other couples and thankfully the weather was glorious, and we could sleep with the windows open.  We have a generator with us in case we need to turn on an air conditioner, but we never needed it!  One of our new friends had a drone, so you'll see in the second photo (I put an arrow towards our rig) you can really see our solar panels and we have our awning out.  

We left the Sarasota Fairgrounds and continued heading north to Haystack Farms in McAlpin, Florida.  We caravaned with the other Airstreamers and it was quite a sight to see on the highway! 

We arrived to Haystack Farm after about 4 hours and the 2.5-mile final approach was a bit dusty . . . this is our rig, and the photo was taken by the person behind us.   Talk about hitting the dusty trail!  

The slog through the dust was totally worth it . . .  Haystack Farms is a stunning hay and sod farm with beautiful fields in a very remote location in old north Florida - peaceful and serene.  7 more Airstreams joined us on this evening for a total of 11.  Haystack Farms is a Harvest Host.  As mentioned in a previous post, Harvest Hosts is a network of farms, wineries, breweries and distilleries, community hosts and more that invite RVers to stay overnight, giving Members safe, convenient and unique places to stay during their travels.  We became members ($150/year) and we are excited to continue to explore these unique and wonderful places!  A few more drone shots and I indicated where our rig is - in the first photo, Paul is at the grill! 

Enjoy these other photos - including sunset, sunrise, and a beautiful morning walk through the sod fields and hay barns.  We just loved Haystack Farms!

On Friday morning, our caravan continued to Lane's Southern Orchards in Fort Valley, Georgia - this would be our first state crossing and as we left the rural northern Florida and continued north, it was a great ride.

Lane's Southern Orchards is another Harvest Host and they are known for their pecans.  All of our rigs were lined up along a beautiful pecan grove.  More drone shots - our rig is the last one in - 2 over from the pecan grove.

We so enjoyed Lane's as well - it wasn't in as peaceful a setting, but it was awesome - and they have a fabulous store / restaurant so of course we indulged in peach cobbler and grabbed some pecans for the road.  We also played a few lawn games with everyone and lots of fun and shenanigans ensued.  It was another fun night, and we continued to be so thankful to be part of the caravan / rally meeting so many interesting and fun people.  A beautiful sunrise and a porch sit and we were then on to the Top of Georgia.

We left Lane's and headed to "the Top" - another glorious weather day.  We caravaned with 2 other couples and took a pit stop at a grocery store en route.  

We love being back here and it's really nice to now be in one place for a week.  We could unhook the truck and settle in, which has been great and gives Paul a break from driving.  Today we took a walk and hung out around the rig and chit chatted with a bunch of wonderful people.  Tonight, we're doing a pasta dinner with everyone, and Paul is making his infamous Bolognese sauce - YUM!

Well, that's it for now!  Thank you for all of your love and support as we embark on this incredibly rewarding adventure!  We'll be posting again soon! 

Cheers & Love, Jen & Paul

Summer 2025 - Squeglia Epic Airstream Road Trip Summary

Paul and I are now 2 weeks from departing for our epic road trip on our Airstream.  Here is a high-level view of our itinerary:

April 23 - Depart Naples and partake in the South Florida Airstream Club Caravan (FUN!); that night we’ll boondock at the Sarasota Fairgrounds and then will spend the next two nights en route staying at Harvest Hosts in McAlpin, FL and Fort Valley, GA

Late April to early May - We arrive at the Top of Georgia Airstream Park, where we spent last 4^th of Juily (as referenced on a previous post) – we love it here and will stay for a week – the Airstream caravan will go through the week and then we will head west.

Early May - Buffalo Point Campground. Yellville, Arkansas– part of the National Park system along the Buffalo National River

Mid-May - Blowing Springs Campground, Bentonville, Arkansas – super excited about this destination – we have a long list of great ideas of what to do.

Late May - Salida RV Resort, Salida, CO

Early June - Ridgway Station Park Pa-Co-Chu-Puk State Park Campground, Ridgway, CO

Mid-June - Stay with friends in Evergreen, Colorado (beautiful area southwest of Denver) / Tickets to Sheryl Crow at Red Rocks

Mid-June - spending 6 nights with our friends Dan and Diana in the Lake Tahoe area 

Late June to early July - Tumalo State Park Campground, Bend, OR - we have good friends who live in Bend and are very excited to explore the area with them!

Mid to late July and early August - Oregon Coast, Willamette Valley, Mt. Rainier National Park

Early August - Fly back to Naples – check on house, doctor’s appointments, etc.

Mid-August - Back to Washington – we’ll keep the airstream at an all-airstream park in Olympia southwest of SEATAC and then stay there for a week.

Mid-August - Log Cabin Resort, Port Angeles, WA (north side of Olympic National Park); planning to visit my cousin John in Port Townsend

Late August - Open time to get from Olympic National Park to Grand Teton National Park – thinking Deception Pass as part of this

Early September - Colter Bay Village – north end of Grand Teton National Park

September - Open time to get us from Wyoming to New Mexico

Early October - Hot Air Ballon Fiesta, Albuquerque, NM

Mid-October - Working our way east to FLA

Late October - Reservations at St. Andrews State Park in Panama City FL (we stayed here this past December and loved it)

Early November - Head back to Naples (1-2 days).  We were very fortunate to have lots of friends visit us this past season . . . perhaps you'll get your photo in front of the Airstream next year???

We are very excited for all of the great adventures ahead and will keep you posted as we roll along!

Cheers and Love, Jen & Paul

December 2024 Trips - Alabama and Panama City, Florida

We just posted all of the upgrades we have made, so I thought it would be fun to share a trip we took in December after our significant upgrade at Airstream Nuts and Bolts in Alabama.

After leaving Ronnie, we headed to our very first Harvest Host stay.  Harvest Host is an amazing option for RVers - you can join for $150 per year and you have access to thousands of small businesses throughout the country where you can stay for one night at no cost.  These locations are typically wineries, breweries, farms, and areas in more rural areas with room for an RV to spend the night.  Although there is no fee to stay, it is understood that you will buy something wonderful from their business - such as wine, beer, cheese, produce, etc.  For those of you who know me well, I will not have issues buying any of this, especially wine and beer!  Ha! 😁 It's definitely a win/win.  Our first experience was at Hodges Vineyard, and it was wonderful - the setting was beautiful (although quite chilly) and they had full hook-ups which is rare.  The people were lovely, and we had a great overnight stay.

We left Alabama and headed to Panama City, Florida where we stayed at St. Andrews State Park.  We are really loving the Florida State Parks, and this one was exceptional.  We also had our very first campsite on the water.  It is located on a peninsula and surrounded by water and a gorgeous beach - we loved it there and already have made reservations to end our 6-month trip there at the end of October.  We even had a front row seat for the full moon rise, which was spectacular!

Now we are caught up and more to come on our 2025 epic road trip adventure!  Stay tuned!

Cheers and love, Jen & Paul

Getting her Ready to Roll!

I have to give a huge shout out to Paul for managing so many technical and mechanical aspects of the Airstream and everything he has done to get it ready for our trip.  He put together the summary below outlining everything he has done to get us "Ready to Roll!"

In our vision of traveling the USA we love the idea of being as self-sufficient as possible.  We took a big step towards independence with our electrical upgrade.  In doing our research, we decided to have a company named Airstream Nuts and Bolts complete the design and installation.  Ronnie Dennis, who is the proprietor, is very well known in the Airstream community for doing very high-quality work.  Their shop is in Dadeville Alabama about 30 minutes from Auburn University.  So in November of 2024 Paul hooked up the Airstream to drop it off at Ronnie’s shop on his way to work in Port Fourchon LA.  At the end of Paul’s hitch, Jen flew into New Orleans to travel back to Ronnie’s shop to pick it up.  

What we had done:

·       We replaced our batteries from old school lead acid to Battle Bourn Lithium-Ion batteries.  We added 2 of these batteries rated at 270-amp hours each.

·       We added a 3000-watt Victron inverter.  An inverter converts 12-volt DC electricity from the batteries into normal (household) 120 Volt AC electric.

·       We replaced our two sad solar panels with 8 (100 watt each) solar panels.  We also replaced the solar controller with and upgraded Victron solar controller.

·       We added the ability to connect the electrical charging system in our truck to charge our batteries on the rig.  This was accomplished with a Victron Orien DC to DC charge controller that limits the draw on the alternator to 50amps.

·       We also added a 7-inch touch screen in the rig that controls all of these functions and monitors the state of charge and discharge so we can manage our power effectively. 

·       And finally, we added two soft starts controllers to both of our air conditioners.  We added these to help lower the power draw upon startup of the compressor.  Paul installed these prior to our appointment.

 

How these upgrades help us be more independent

These upgrades make it possible to not have to rely on an expensive campground to plug our rig into.  So when we are traveling, we can spend the night off-grid so to speak.  This includes spending the night in a parking lot (Harvest Host) or out on BLM land out west.  The limitation on this is that if we need to run the Air conditioning, the batteries will not make it all night.  But what it does do, is give us the ability to run the AC for a lunch stop or before we get to a campground where we know we will have a plug.    

Other Upgrades

·   Tires.  We decided to replace all 5 (one spare) tires on the rig as they were more than five years old.  This may seem to be wasteful to discard tires that have plenty of tread on them.  Tires that do not get used regularly can and do develop dry rot.  This is a problem on the trailer if and when they delaminate or blow out.   Along with the safety concern is the damage concern when these slabs of tire tread came flopping around and dent the panels on the airstream.  Replacing panels is very expensive.

·    Starlink. We are lucky to live in a time when internet communication has become so accessible.  Starlink uses low orbit satellites to provide very high speed internet connections virtually anywhere in the world.  We permanently installed the router in one of the cabinets above the TV.  To get on to the internet takes about five minutes of setting the antenna outside and placing it with a clear view of the sky

·    Bikes.  One of the biggest challenges we had was finding a reasonable method to carry bicycles either in the truck or in the rig.  Because of the layout of our airstream, a bike rack on the back of it was not a great solution.  We purchased foldable full-size bikes from etrailer.com  The brand is "Montague."  I ordered the mountain bike for myself as I am a bit sturdy, and I wanted to get a bike that could take a beating.  We got a road bike for Jennifer.  I built a couple of crude boxes to put on my bed slide and it all seems to work.

 

This is Jen . . . we are currently at Little Manatee River State Park after a productive trip to the Airstream of Tampa a few days ago to get our front AC replaced and our stabilizer jack switches replaced as well.  This was the last big repair we needed prior to our adventure.  It was cool to be at Airstream and read more about its history and founder Wally Byam.  They have been making Airstreams in the good ole USA since 1932 and 75% of them are still on the road - we are honored to be part of this great story.  Here are a few pics from our visit:

A huge thanks again to Paul for all of his hard work getting us ready!  

Cheers and love, Jen & Paul