The first leg of the trip is from Miami to Hot Springs, Arkansas.  Why?  Well, the short answer is 2 pronged.  

Number 1, we have friends, Debra and Barry Benton, from Dallas.  Gail worked with Barry 30+ years ago.  We haven’t seen them in years but have followed their latest adventures.  They sold everything and started RVing about 6 years ago and bought a website about RV life. They have sponsored an RV rendezvous for a few years already and this year they are hosting the event in, you guessed it, Hot Springs, AR. 

Number 2, we have our three grandsons and two great granddaughters that live north of Hot Springs in Ft. Smith and Conway.  So, the two things and the timing just fit together.  

We plan to attend the event, called Camp Carpe Diem 2024, at the Hot Springs Off-Road Park then go visit the kids.  Simple plan.  Our trip plan is to cut through Florida quickly because we had seen those roads many times.  Go north through Alabama, east through Mississippi, and then over the big river into Arkansas.

Day 1 was 320 miles to Ocala.  We took Hwy 27 on the diagonal between the turnpike and I-75. We stopped at Champions Run RV Park for the night.  It was interesting because it has 426 pads for RVs and there were only 16 of us there.  It is really an upscale place, but this is off season.  The snowbirds have all gone back north.  So, for us, it was a quiet and thankfully restful site.

Next morning we were off early for the Panama City area to Southern Grace Lavender Farm that specializes in lavender by-products.  They are part of a group called Harvest Hosts, who sponsor RVs for a night for free.  They usually have some main operation like this farm (or a brewery, vineyard, etc) that they can promote their products at the same time.  It was another long day and quite eventful (more details later) but we arrived and settled in.  Gail bought some items in the gift shop, and we met another relatively new RV couples from Minnesota parked next to us. 

The big excitement came a 4:45 in the morning with a Tornado Watch Alert on our phones as a front was passing through.  It did get windy and quite a bit of lightning and rain, but the closest really bad weather was near Tallahassee about 30 miles away.

Day 3 we had a shorter leg up to Montgomery, AL and another different kind of spot.  This was a privately owned RV park called Kountry Air near Prattville, AL.   It was wonderful.  On the internet it was rated 9.0 and one reason to put it on our list.  Located in the woods with an easy pull thru pad.  And a laundry.  We went into Prattville for dinner, and it happened to be a festival weekend with food trucks and music at park downtown by the river.  Cajun food and a huge scoop of ice cream.

Finally, to get caught up, day 4 was to an even different kind of place.  4 days and 4 different venues.  This was to Lureen Lake State Park in Coker, AL.  Only about 80 miles from Prattville, we had an easy, relaxing drive up and a wonderful spot by the lake.  Heavily wooded and lots of activity.  It was Mother’s Day weekend so there were a lot of families out.  The beach area was crowded (and the water surprisingly warm).   We went for a long walk through the RV camp area.  And settled in for an early evening.

All 4 places had their own character, and we plan to experience many, many more.  We will keep you in the loop as we go.  We have 3 more nights before reaching Hot Springs.