The Roaming Roes

PLOT TWIST!!

We’ve been making our way toward California to go to baseball games at Petco Park, Angel Stadium and Dodger Stadium. Also, a planned visit to Sequoia NP. I have some big trees to hug! 💚🤎

However… 😉

Keriann’s doctor says it’s time to induce this week!! So, we pivoted to Utah! 😮 The chase will have to wait! ⚾️

Praying for a safe and healthy delivery of Keriann and Nate’s baby girl! Bring on the baby snuggles! 🙏🥰

On this episode of “What has broken during this trip?” listed in no particular order…

*Ceiling fan blade broke off and went flying across the room, landing on the kitchen counter.

*RV GPS system kept going to sleep every two minutes. Opened a chat with Garmin and “Kevin” (who is now my best friend because he wasn’t AI) walked me through the solution.

*Rear camera keeps going out. Will attempt a new cord. If that doesn’t work, I’m chucking it out the window. Bye camera!!!

*Started the trip with the TMPS not registering all of the tires. Opened a chat that wasn’t helpful. Jeff fixed on his own. Thank goodness because the next day, it alerted us to a tire losing pressure! Blown valve stem….again.

*Our rear window blind won’t stay down anymore. Vera Bradley rooster blanket for the win! 😂

*A gasket above one our slides keeps sliding out while we’re driving. Sometimes 3 feet of it is enjoying freedom, flapping around. Clear adhesive isn’t working to keep it in.

*On my last load of laundry, I noticed water in the pan under the washer. Dried it up and haven’t done laundry since. 😱

Things happen and you can’t let it make you crazy. Problem solve and move on. Or keep up the rooster blanket and go to the laundry mat from now on!

Majestic. Awe-inspiring. Breathtaking. A natural wonder. Healing.

The magnificent Grand Canyon never gets old.

Visiting the Grand Canyon wasn’t on the itinerary…only because we’ve been twice before and this was a one night stay on our journey west. However, our campground in Williams was only one hour away!

The drive that day was long and rough, including two close calls. I knew Jeff didn’t want to drive even longer. Buttt, he knew I couldn’t be that close and not go. So he quickly set up at the campground and made it happen. That’s love. 🫶🏼

It gave my heart a renewed sense of gratitude and a connection with nature that helps heavy things feel lighter. 🥹

It’s like nature was giving me a hug I didn’t realize I needed. 🥰

We stayed long enough to see the beautiful blue skies, with thin wispy clouds, change to a cotton candy, watercolor sky. 🧡

Enough said. Enjoy the pics.

Dear Love’s RV Spot in Van Texas,

We’re on strike two. The only reason we didn’t strike out is because I’m taking some responsibility for not catching on that this location didn’t have full hook-ups. My bad (really it was Jeff, but we’re a team 😉). I expect noise…you’re a truck stop. I accept that. But how do you create a paved area for RV’s that isn’t level? I mean, it’s not even close. Our tires on the right side were off the ground and our steps to get inside were maxed out. I had to get out the climbing rope and carabiners to go up! The hundreds of Great tailed Grackle were reminiscent of the playground scene from Alfred Hitchcock’s movie The Birds. They were entertaining and very loud…all night long. 😆🐦‍⬛ Top that off with terrible water pressure. Definitely not worth $53.40.

Lesson learned. Read the fine print and read previous reviews!

The store and gas station were totally fine. It was clean and workers were friendly. Just not a good spot for overnight.

“Boo-dah”

Kind of sounds like “boo-dan” but they skip
the “n”.

It’s not just a snack, it’s a way of life for our cajun friends.

Our campground was located next to Billy’s Homemade Boudin and Cracklins. Locals, travelers and tourists will wait in line up to an hour to get some of their Cajun food. It looks much like a convenience store but with counter service. Hot food ready to go home with you as early as 7:00am…or buy it frozen and cook it yourself.

The staff is fast, and patient with people unfamiliar with the culture. 💜💛 I mentioned the long lines we had noticed the day before and she said “you should see what it looks like after church gets out”! It was a good experience and we got to try new food! I also grabbed some seafood seasonings to try! 🙌

Our campground for the night was a KOA. It’s Jeff’s go-to. They’re close to the highway for easy off and on. Most of time they’re fairly level, gravel pads. This one surprised us with a concrete pad. Happy day! It was $57 after our KOA discount. Only complaint was the WiFi. It was terrible and our TV kept pausing while trying to watch a game. 👎

Next stop Love’s RV Stop in Texas!

Our first stop was in the Florida panhandle at Splash RV Resort and Waterpark. Parks like this are sometimes referred to as concrete jungles or concrete parking lots. I get it, but sometimes we feel bougie and want an RV Resort instead of a campground! 😆 But this park does have lots of trees, unlike some.

We found this resort in 2022 when it was newly opened, back when it was $60-70 per night. It has doubled since then, however it does have every amenity you could think of!

Pros:
*Concrete, level pads
*Large sites
*Very clean
*Nicest bathhouses I’ve seen
*2 pools, hot tub, lazy river**, water slides, splash pad, playground
*Lots of trees
*Seriously lots of activities and every amenity, pickleball, mini golf. Holiday specific activities too. Some amenities limited seasonally.
*30 minutes to amazing beaches
*Also short drive to watch the Blue Angels practice on specific days
*Daily text of daily activities

Cons:
*Pricey, but you get what you pay for
*Lots of highway noise…kinda feels like you’re camping in the I-10 median…but we aren’t bothered and sleep just fine
**Lazy River isn’t heated. Too cold to get in every time we’ve been there. Boo 👎
*Online booking fee-what? We did the work!

Obviously way more pros than cons…we will return to this resort! It’s a 9/10

Rate $140.70 per night
Online booking fee $8.44
FL tax $16.88
FL Lodging tax $14.07
County tax $2.81
Service fees $9.71
Total $333.31 for 2 nights 😳 $$$$

Got to visit with Uncle Bud, Murray and Paula in Pensacola too!

Off to the bayou for the night!

🎶 On the road again 🎶

After several months of searching, fixing up and settling into our new home in Lakeland, we’re ready to embark on some new adventures! We are not full-time travelers so we needed permanent sticks and bricks.

So, we lovingly cleaned up Elvis and retrieved Priscilla out of storage and packed her up!

We’ve been looking forward to checking some more National Parks and MLB parks off of our list! ✅ We’re also going to check off becoming grandparents for the second time…Keriann and Nate are preparing to welcome a baby girl soon! We’re also excited about watching Camden and Natalie graduate from BYU! Very exciting events to look forward to!

Follow along for updates on The Roaming Roes adventures…some exciting and some less than exciting but we’re here for it! It’s our time! We feel blessed to be able to do this and look forward to seeing things and making more memories! We’re heading west!

What Priscilla looks like all gussied up when we’re stationary for a few days ❤️

VS

What Priscilla looks like as we’re heading home and only stay one night somewhere 🥱