Micanopy, FL: Simonton Farm ARRIVAL

After a whirlwind month on the road we've settled down again for another month long farm stay. We're now in Micanopy, FL at the Simonton Farm. There's lots of dogs, frogs, and people and it seems like it's going to be a very interesting month!

In other farm related news, Chris and Christy from our last farm stay at White Barn Farm, had their baby! Congratulations you guys we're excited to come back next year and see how things have grown! But for now we'll keep everyone posted on how things unfold down here in the jungle!

New Facebook pics too of Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia! Check em' out!

Valdosta, Georgia: Broke down/Fixed up at BUG BARN

Well, just as we posted about getting past our 3,000 mile mark... We've had a little run of bad luck. Last night we pulled off the highway thinking things didn't feel quite right and sure enough the van just sputtered and shut off.

After a nice guy named Cody spent 2 hrs giving us correct terminology of how to explain what was going on, and some good conversation as well-we were pooped! We had had a long day on the road so we decided to treat ourselves to a $40 motel, some tv and a shower!

Early this morning we went back to the van parked in a mall parking lot to find a flat tire! And to top it off, the jack hole was all bent so we couldn't fit the jack in to jack it up and change the tire! That's when Cory came (a very talkative troubled kid)- he figured out the jack situation and changed the tire! 2 1/2 hours and many slightly disturbing stories later we were all set to find a spot to check out our van!

So, here we are sitting at the bug barn where it looks like we are in GREAT hands! We've got all day and Jesse (like Jesse James) and Chris are just fueling up on some food before they dig in and start figuring our mess out!!
The best part is that they're VW bus friendly and it's a nice sunny day!!

ALABAMA: Sweet Home Alabama! 2 nights at Talladega National Forest to be precise!

Following the advice of a Burlington local, Pops, who we met after he motioned us into a museum for the worlds largest collection of arrowheads at Cheaha State Park- we are currently driving down scenic 49south towards Florida! But, let's backtrack...

We arrived at Talladega National Forest on Tuesday night (night driving is spooky) at a very primitive campground (even spookier) and hit the hay (all while hearing spooky things)!

The next day, we had an amazing but strenuous 7 mile hike which pushed us to find Cheaha lake and take a swim! We cooked up a modified Annie's lasagne (substituting ground beef and water with beans and beef stock) which after such a hike and only oatmeal for breakfast tasted like heaven!

Since we were without our "connection" to the outside world (aka smart phone) we used our atlas and Pops advice to plan our next route down to Florida!

What a pleasant surprise you were Alabama!

Memphis, Tennessee: Graceland, Peabody, Wedding

We left Memphis Tennessee Tuesday morning. We had a great time listening to Elvis music 24/7, being able to celebrate a friends wedding at the famous Peabody hotel, and although we didn't go inside Elvis's Graceland we feel closer to the king then ever before! Ladies and gentlemen, the Zinger has left the campground!

We were able to get curt a spiffy outfit for the wedding thanks to park st thrift and especially guys tuxedo (a little shout out to Stephanie!!!) for the bow tie!

We would also like to make a note that we have reached over 3,000 miles since leaving VT (and yes, we got an oil change in Memphis- then had to return to them because they didn't screw the thing on tight enough only to hear the guy admit he was out of his element with our rig!! But he was very nice and things look good to go!)

Good bye Memphis!

Memphis, Tennessee: Old pictures Blog Update!

Howdy everybody! We're currently relaxing in Memphis, TN, right next to the home of Elvis, Graceland.  We've been having tons of fun and haven't been able to update the blog much but now that we have some downtime we've been able to post some pics:

Maryland & Washington DC

Virginia & Kentucky

We've also created a new page to upload video clips that we've taken.  Check out the new section at the top of the blog!  We're trying to get caught up with old clips right now but eventually we'll up to date and we'll let you know as new videos are added.

Nashville, Tennessee: Couchsurf for a night

After checking out mammoth caves, we headed to Nashville! We were there less than 24 hours but were able to see a little taste of the"music city"!! We Couchsurfed again with some pretty rad folks, Heather, Tyler, and their son Johnny! And today we have the pleasure of a travel companion as their friend Kody was looking to take the Megabus back down to Memphis..we quickly pointed out that our bus might not be mega but it's Awesome!

Here's a picture of Gaylord! He's exactly what you might think he is, a pet pig!! Nashville was awesome!

Kentucky: Mammoth Caves National Park

We're in deep now! The caves are amazing and we even gained an unexpected hour due to a time zone shift! Kentucky is great! We got to go on a tour and a little hike before heading down to Nashville Tenn. for the night!!

Lexington, Kentucky: Bourbon And Hot Browns

After being introduced to some real southern food, our new friend Wesley took us to the Woodford Reserve Distillery for an informative and intoxicating tour. We may not have hit all the distilleries on the Bourbon Trail but it seems like we found the best one!

Lexington, Kentucky: Couch Surfing!

Surf's up!!!

Shenandoah National Park, Virginia: Scenic Drive, hike, camping

Some of the most spectacular roadside views we've ever seen plus some unexpected adventures including a hike that turned into a downpour/hail storm, almost running out of gas inside the park, and finding a random campground to crash in the middle of the night! All in all another great adventure day on the road!

Dickerson, Maryland: Wining at Sugarloaf Mountain Vineyard

As we head west on this rainy Monday let's look back to yesterday where it was sunny and we were drinking/stomping wine at the Sugarloaf Mountain Vineyard! Abbie volunteers here sometimes! It was really funny to watch Kim and Abbie try and beat some little girls at the stomping competition. They even tried putting in some dance moves!

Maryland: Hiking To The Great Falls Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historic Park

Saturday Abbie took us on a scenic hike through the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historic Park (aka the C&OCNHP!)

Catch up on some CT/PA/DE pics here...

Washington DC

Friday we toured the nation's Capitol and flipped on our 'super tourist' switch. Almost too much stuff to see! Full update post coming soon!

Newark, Delaware: Leaving...adventure satisfied

DELAWARE key words: Science, Planning, Discovery, Productivity, Hiking, Billing! ONWARD!

Newark, Delaware: we're here in the name of science

We've made a stop to visit our friend Spanny (Pat) at the University of Delaware's research farm where he's studying the effects of contaminated irrigation water on specialty crops! Oh... And we're doing fun things as well like hiking and hanging out!!

Philadelphia, PA: Cheesesteak Wars

We heard that when traveling through Philadelphia we had to try the two most famous Philly Cheesesteak places: Geno's and Pat's. Both located conveniently across the street from one another! Wit' means "with onions". Wizz means cheese wizz and a definite must have on the sandwich. We split one at each stop and really couldn't decide which was better because they were both SO good!

Drivin' through NJ

Photo of the day: Fashion view from the van! (we had to capture this).

Quick pit stop in CT

After leaving the farm, we made a quick weekend stop in East Hampton to say our final goodbyes. We were even lucky enough to get down to Niantic to see Dave, Jill, Grampa Chuck, and even Nancy and Randy(the Vermonters!)

Finally leaving New England!