The End of The Tracks

Well, this trip has literally come to the end of the line. Amtrak unloaded ol' Bertha from the back of the train in Lorton VA  and we drove the last few mile back home.

Thanks for checking in along the way.  We hope you found this entertaining or at least a good distraction from whatever it is you were suppose to be doing.  Half the reason we keep trip blogs is to help us remember the places we go, keep in touch and share the stories of the people we meet along the way.

Folks often tell us their VW adventures from long ago. A woman from Maine told us about the time her parents bought two small calves and loaded them up with four kids in the Westfalia for the ride back to the farm. Perfect. The Westfalia folks we met this outing are kindred souls and we hope you drive (or train) to Washington DC for a visit.  We went about 2000 miles and the camper did fine, but  it is always a possible in a 28 year old car to have a totally different trip.

Florida has a lot of natural beauty and wildlife.  We tried hard to get out and enjoy it. It was cold and windy for the first half but hey, we were still on vacation. Next time warmer clothes. Strapping kayaks on the roof of an already under powered vehicle presented it's own challenges, mostly in the MPG department  Ouch.

Thanks to all the folks back home for holding down the fort and a special thanks to Cam for doing most of the trip planning and still letting me think we winged it.  Traveling without reservations works for us, but only because Cam keeps a cache of options available at all times and is agreeable to the occasional boondock. 

Lastly, a toast to Pat who buries his craft bourbon all over the country and gave us the clues needed to dig up a bottle on Indian Key.  What an amazing thing you do!  

Happy Trails!

The Auto Train Turducken

If you don't know about a turducken it is a turkey stuffed with a duck, stuffed with a chicken. Well, we have stuffed the Auto Train with the VW camper stuffed with the kayaks. Seems to have worked so far.  They drove ol Bertha away and we are  in the train station waiting for someone to yell "All aboard!" 

 

Vero Beach Via 3 Wrong Turns in Miami

After cruising the Keys at 45mph and pulling over for most any distraction, we found ourselves on I-95 and completely forgot how to navigate the Interstate System.  After the second wrong turn, we ended up at the exit way of an RV show. The only logical thing to do at that point was to enter the exit and take a look around.  We could have parked the VW in the living room of most of these monsters. I will be installing granite counter tops in Bertha as soon as I get home. We made it to Vero Beach and found a nice hotel. We cleaned up and went out for a fancy dinner.  Next stop is Sanford Florida, where we will load Bertha and ourselves on the Amtrak Auto Train... destination DC.

A room over the bar, is not as bad as at sounds

Our intent was to camp, but Key Largo had other plans for folks like us who travel with no reservations.  We ended at Snappers, a restaurant that had four very clean but humble rooms right above the bar.  The seafood burrito was incredible and the live music  was good and loud all the way til midnight. Lucky us.   We were near John Pennekamp Marine Park, so in the morning, we got one more trip kayaking in the mangroves. Now it is time to head north again.  Destination Vero Beach. 

Seems from the pictures that Cammie is on vacation by herself!

Northward Ho

We are heading north but only made it to Big Pine Key. We stayed at the Fishing Lodge RV Resort.  As Rv campgrounds go it was very friendly and clean and on the water.  In many ways private Rv campgrounds are like communes, but if you told the long term campers that they might shoot you.  It was full of activities, rec rooms, free coffee and folks all knew each other from years of coming back.  Utopian?  Hmmm,  it may be time for the Vw camper to head on up the road.

Here is a link to the inside of the camper while heading on down the road: Westfalia Tour

Hemmingways Cats

We took a tour of the house and grounds.  This is where Ernest wrote many of his most famous novels including Farewell to Arms. He had a fascinating but turbulent life that did not end well. All 45 of the cats seem to be doing fine, even with six toes.

 

Key West - A World Class Place

While my colleagues had a free snow day back in Virginia,  I carried on, conducting bike and pedestrian research here in Key West. My conclusion is that Arlington needs ten times more bars to fully maximize It's non- motorized transportation potential.  Arlington should also recognize the importance of  kayaking if it wants to have a world class multi modal transportation system.   I will continue with this important research today.