Wow, you blink and it’s over already. That was a quick 6-ish weeks on the road in the RV and the time had come to store Zephyr and return to our cruising season.
Here’s our video recap of our last stop in Austin and the road trip back to Florida (caution: lots of cat video!):
Last Stop: McKinney Falls State Park – Austin, Texas
We planned our last stop to be in an old favorite – McKinney Falls State Park. We’ve stayed here many times before and had booked this spot specifically to be in Austin during SXSW (a huge tech, music and film festival – we were actually presenters in 2011).
Austin is also the closest thing that I call a hometown – it’s where I grew up, and my brother still lives there. I love coming back and it was the perfect spot to leave Zephyr mid country.
But alas with our lingering ‘crud’, lots of social time and all of the logistics that had to come together – we barely left the campground except for handling chores and a couple meals out. My brother also ended up traveling out of town for business during much of our time – but we did manage to get together anyway.
We enjoyed our visit. We love the large private feeling campsites at this park and its close proximity to south Austin stuff. We also love their nature trail, albeit this time it seems suburban life is encroaching on the border of the park with new homes springing up within view.
We got everything packed up and prepped, and got Zephyr into her indoor storage unit with a power hook-up. We opted for the pricey option at $270/month – which we feel is good protection from hail storms that can occur in the area. Plus my brother can keep an eye on things for us.
MINI Road Trip!
Now, how to get back to the boat?
We honestly didn’t have a plan for this when we left Miami back in January. We had contemplated several options ranging from flying back to driving back. Flying back would have been super convenient, especially since the boat is within walking distance of the Miami airport – and affordable direct flights were available.
The logistic to figure out was what to do with the MINI Cooper? We eventually do want to trade it in on a something more off-road capable for our RV winter seasons in the southwest.
So do we sell, trade in or store the MINI for now?
We decided to wait to see what felt right, and keeping the MINI for now is what seemed to make the most sense. We have a monthly spot waiting for us further up the coast in Florida next month and can relocate the MINI there. We’ll appreciate the local transport.
Which meant… ROAD TRIP back to Miami.
Now, the MINI is not the most ideal vehicle for a comfortable 1400+ mile road trip. For one, it’s small – and there’s three of us, a little luggage and a box of tech we need to move back and forth. And then there’s the issue of no cruise control, our MINI is a super base model.
We opted for breaking up the drive into more manageable driving days of 3-6 hours and integrating in some social visits and fun along the way.
Houston – We spent Monday morning getting Zephyr into storage, and then headed to our first stop to meet up with our friend Shawn, who we’ve gotten to know via the Escapees RV Club (he’s the new CEO). It was super fun to nerd out with him for the evening, and we totally forgot to snap a pic. So, a picture of my ‘Zombie’ margarita will have to commemorate the occasion.- New Orleans – Next stop was NOLA. We hadn’t been in years. It was a longer driving day but we got in late afternoon with plenty of time to stroll the riverfront and French Quarter. We selected a pet-friendly hotel right along the FQ for easy access, and it was awesome. While we enjoyed a nice daiquiri, we didn’t party it up too much and were back at the hotel by 10pm.
- Daphne, AL – A shorter driving day ahead, so that we could spend the evening with Kyle & Olivia of Drivin’ and Vibin’. We’ve enjoyed getting to know these two over the years (and stopped in on our way out too), and they’re currently back in their home town of Fairhope. They gave us a tour, we went out for yummy sushi and we did a little video collaboration. You can catch our interview with them, and their interview with us.
- Spring Hill, FL – Our longest driving day, and probably a bit too long. But we wanted to stop in to see Chris’ parents before they head north for the summer. We took a day off from driving to spend the day with them and catch up on a bit of work.
- Miami, FL – Back home aboard Y-Not at last – we did stop in the Tampa area on the way for brunch with our buddies Ben & Karen (we shared a tour of their sweet new vintage bus conversion on our way out as well)
All and all.. a great drive and Kiki did quite well on an extended road trip. She’s such a seasoned and adaptable traveler.
We selected La Quinta Inn & Suites to stay at, which are super pet friendly (they don’t even charge extra).
And we purchased disposable litter trays to take in each night. We lined the un-used trays with a blanket in the MINI, which made a great little nap nook for her.
It was fun to integrate in a little adventure, friends and family – instead of just getting in miles. We can see driving trips like this being a great way to transition between boat and bus as we shift seasonally.
Completing this major logistic of getting the bus in storage and ourselves returned to the boat feels like a turning page. The completion of what seemed like a big overwhelming to-do list and transitioning back into adventures after a crazy few months of hurricanes and boat damage.
Up Next: Returning to the Great Loop!
We’re now back in Miami and it’s wonderful to be back aboard Y-Not.
We have a couple little boat projects to wrap up that couldn’t be completed before we left (mostly due to parts and the holidays) that will involve a quick haul-out and sea-trial of the prop work we had done.
We hopefully should be able to get those done this week.
If all goes well, we’re aiming to shove off early next week and start puttering our way up the intercostal waterway continuing our Great Loop adventure!
We have a monthly dock space reserved for much of April in Ft. Pierce, where we’ll also be attending the MTOA Spring Rendezvous.
We’re looking forward to some down time at last before we continue up the coast. Our goal is to get north of Cape Hatteras by the beginning of peak hurricane season (August-ish). That should hopefully allow for a slow pace and a couple extended stays in cool cities.
We look forward to sharing the journey with you! Cheers!
Looking forward to hearing about your Great Loop adventures–safe travels!
As stated before you guys are a ‘class act.’ ☺
I absolutely adore what you have done with your lives. It resonates like a fine wine or a magnificent painting in an art gallery!
All deserved and WELL PLANNED.
It is so wonderful to share your adventures and often feels as if I’ve made new friends.
You both certainly know how to live.
I love your kitty and it is so interesting she travels so well.
OMG I rolled (LOL) when Chris made the comment about the ‘dog walking sign’ making no mention of cats as discriminating.
I couldn’t agree more!!! I am a major cat person…too precious for words.
Have a WONDERFUL and relaxing time on the boat. Although enviable, I look forward to all your next videos.
Be SAFE!
Awww… thanks for the super sweet comment. And thanks for coming along with us!
I love that you travel with your kitty!!!!! What fun you are having.
Carol Boyd
If you are heading north via the intracoastal, I would love to wave to you from the last bridge south of Port Everglades. I ride my bike over the bridge and can plan to be on top when you arrive. Let me know a day ahead if you wish to wave to a subscriber.
We always love waving to folks… but coordinating can be difficult. There’s a rule in boating – I can give you a time. Or a place. But not both 🙂
Isn’t it funny how true that is for boating, but in complete contrast to RV-ing, where it’s perfectly reasonable to specify a time *and* a place (that you can make 99% of the time).
Only set a time and a place one or two times in all of my boating, and they both came back to bite me. Lesson learned! You figured it out sooner 🙂