The US-Canada border finally reopened in the fall of 2021, and on the evening of the first Thursday of January 2022, we set out for Florida by knocking off a few hours before crossing the border near Detroit. It was 12 degrees below freezing when we parked in a carpool for the night. Normally, we’d put on the heater, but that night we just used the electric blanket. It was cozy, but the cold air was uncomfortable for the face and nostrils.
The weather forecast was clear but cold, and our plan was to gradually pick our way south. I had a busy day of phone calls scheduled, so we planned to drive a few hours in the early morning and find a park where we could stop to rest, exercise and get some calls done.
We didn’t realize that a snow storm had blown through the day before. The interstate was messy and wet but moving well enough. However, as soon as we got off the highway, the roads were like skating rinks. There was a steady stream of crashed and abandoned vehicles in various states of destruction. With no access to a pleasant place to stop and bitterly cold winds on our brief rest stops, we just kept on motoring with Hendrika doing most of the driving and me on the computer having meetings.
The cold and ice didn’t really let up until we got to Alabama where we parked at the first park we could find that was pretty close to the highway. I quickly fell into a deep sleep, but was sharply woken by a sheriff knocking on the door. Apparently, it was a dangerous place in the middle of the night, and the officer politely gave us some other suggestions. We hauled south for another half hour and conked out at a Walmart parking lot for the rest of the evening.
By midday Saturday we were on Pensacola Beach in the Florida Panhandle.
It was cool and windy, but amazingly beautiful. We combined boondocking at national seashore parking lots, a boat ramp and Walmarts with official camping in state parks. The boondocking at the national seashores was probably not legal, but not a problem in the off season, apparently. The parks we stayed at were Fort Pickens and Henderson Beach.
We picked our way east through Destin and beyond, spending days at beaches and parks and mostly boondocking at night. We boondocked at the Point Washington State Forest, the Southern Grace Lavender Farm (a Harvest Hosts location), Walmart and a Cracker Barrel. Day visits included Eden Gardens State Park and Goodwood Museum & Gardens in Tallahassee. We also booked a free camping spot in Blue Springs Recreational Area.
We stayed at the Crazy 8 Ranch, went riding and made a day trip to Edward Ball Wakulla Springs State Park.
Then it was off to visit friends who had rented a seashore cottage in Hilton Head Island in South Carolina. We planned to moochdock in their driveway, but there were strictly enforced homeowner association rules that forbid RVs. So, in the land of the free, we were not allowed to drive our van through a community and park in someone’s driveway. But, no matter,iOverlander pointed out street parking close to the gate, which worked out just fine.
After an annoying but mandatory COVID test to cross the border into Canada, we started north and were home two days later, having a nice winter camping experience at Camp Creek.