I must confess. I own a whale.
Don't get excited. It's not the fairy kind that drops huge upvotes on posts, but the wallowing kind that you ride inside. A land whale.
Our 1999 motorhome that we bought last year has taken us on several trips already, both long and short. Look at how nice and green everything is as we set out from a BJs parking lot in South Florida.
This time around, we have a 1500 mile trip from Florida to Wisconsin, and we called upon the landwhale to brave the frozen wastelands of Wisconsin for the first time. And it brought a friend. A 2014 Ford Escape. Because there’s no way I’m going to saddle up the landwhale every time to go for groceries.
Day 1:
Near Lake City, FL, we stumbled around logging roads at 2am looking for a campground that didn’t exist. We passed a few group campsites that were superbly creepy in the mist, but they were full of tents. And creepyness. Some guy was standing there outside his tent watching us go by at 2am. No way in hell we were stopping there, even if a campsite was available. I wanted to take a picture, but I was worried he might have a shotgun. Or attack dogs. We moved on.
We camped overnight in a Walmart parking in Lake City, FL.
Nice little view of trees in the morning. It was a quiet place to camp. Not bad!
Our kitties sometimes like to sleep under the driver’s side seat. Nice little cubby there.
Day 2:
Our second campsite was another Walmart parking lot that we rolled into at 10pm. This was in southern Illinois. It had rained ALL DAY while we were driving, and ended up as sleet at the end. The one good thing about having the overhead bunk overhanging the windshield is that you never have to scrape ice off your glass.
Bleah. Nasty.
Day 3:
Yes. You know you’re not in Florida any more when you have to clean ice off the pump before you can pump gas.
Our traveling kitties made their home in one of the RV cabinets. They survived the trip, but are not excited about the cold. They are naked, after all.
We arrived in Wisconsin late in the afternoon of the third day. Cold. Friggin cold. -10F. Not unexpectedly, our car needed to be jumpstarted, and then unstrapped from the tow dolly, and the tow lights removed. I couldn’t feel my fingers by the time I was done.
Thus ends Landwhale Travelogue Adventure #1. Assuming we don't freeze to death in Wisconsin, we will be retreating back to South Florida in early January.
Images by @negativer
Whale clipart by Pixabay
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...saddle up the Landwhale... I think is my new favorite phrase.
Ya, there were many times I thought we were going to die that first night in search of this mythical free campsite. I'm sure it's just a story the creepy campers tell people to attract unsuspecting travelers to lure them into their den for slaughter. Was it called the Bates Campground by any chance?
Oh man, that'd be a story right there. Fake campground, no need for reservations, and thus nobody knows who arrives...or that nobody leaves.
Now I have the song "Psycho Killer" by Talking Heads going in my head: Psycho Camper, Qu'est-ce que c'est, Fu-fu-fu-FU-fu, Fu-fu-fu-fu-FU-fu, better Run run run run run run run away!
That can be your next karaoke contest entry!
Maybe that can be the Landwhale theme song!
Aw... you travel with kitties! The only way to do it. Off to shop for a land whale now... Enjoy the snow and the cheese!
There is no way I could leave my kitties alone for two weeks, or in some boarding house or even in the hands of a house sitter. Plus, I think they like the change of scenery, even if they act like they don't :)
Yes, cats rarely tell the truth. 😼
Wisconsin; come for the scenery, stay because your car will not start.
This needs to be on a t-shirt.
Welcome to Wisconsin! You sure picked the worst weather to show up in, though. I hope you stay long enough to enjoy slightly warmer weather.
I think we're going to miss the 'warmer' weather. :) Probably heading back south in a couple days. I got my taste of the cold...and I've had enough.
We will see some relief on Sunday. Do come back in more comfortable weather! When Florida is plagued with heat and humidity, we'll have quite a tolerable Summer.
We come back every summer! Just when Florida gets brutal at the beginning of June...we escape to Wisconsin :)
I must confess. I own a whale.
Excellent beginning to this story! There is no way I could've skipped reading this. Kudos to the kitties. Enjoy Wisconsin!
Thanks @jonknight! I'm just glad we survived the journey, and that we've survived Wisconsin.
So far.
Oh my gosh, welcome back to the lovely Midwest! It’s not for the faint of heart this time of year! Can’t you take a swing through Minneapolis and pay a visit? 😃
It cracks me up (but does not surprise me) that you bring the kitties with you! So cute.
Travel safely. I look forward to hearing about your continued adventures! Hopefully your car behaves.
The kitties don't love traveling yet, but maybe they will eventually. The worst part is at night when kitties get rambunctious and you can't just separate them in a different room so you can get some sleep. They end up just running around the motorhome, trampling you with each circuit up to the overhead bunk and back down again.
Djezus Christ, I looks like you ended up all the way into Alaska instead of just Wisconsin. What an adventure... It was nice talking to you, see you back when you are a fully integrated Yeti
Thanks! We may have taken a wrong turn and did indeed end up in Alaska. The drive seemed long enough to make that entirely possible :)
Oh my. That doesn't sound like fun to me at all! Looking forward to hearing more of your traveller's tales.
I think we picked the exact worst time of year to be here. The weather forecast seems to agree with me. It's going to start to get really nice here...after we leave.
😁 Is it warm in the van at night?
It has a gas furnace! We kept it running all night.
Glad to hear it!
Amazing how suddenly the weather changes once you get to Wisconsin. Nice post on your travels...look forward to seeing more.
It's so easy to forget all this kind of stuff in your life, even things that just happened a couple days ago. I figured I might as well post it permanently on the blockchain :)
Stay warm. Safe travels
Yours is an apt username to be commenting on this post :) Thanks!
Good point.
What a trip!
Indeed! About to head back south today. Really looking forward to getting back into the warmth of Florida :)
From what my cousins living in Orlando tell me, the polar vortex is making it a bit uncomfortable down there too. "It might snow!" One told me with a mixture of fear and awe. "We'll have to crank up the heater and stay inside all week". But at least it will be warmer than WI, eh? ;)
Well, I thought it certainly couldn't possibly get any colder, but I'm sitting in Chicago right now...and it feels about as cold as it can get without supernatural intervention.
Grea...and its very great post keep it up...