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Stacy
Trip Date 01/01/2023 Posted On 01/04/2023 13:30:00 |
Destinations | Camping | RV Vacations | Beach | All-Inclusive Resort | Vacation Condo | Cruises | Travel Blogger Year in Review | Alabama | Florida | Hawaii | Kansas | Louisiana | Missouri | Puerto Rico | Texas | Antigua | Cyprus | Dominican Republic | Greece | Israel | Italy | Jamaica | Portugal | Spain | St. Kitts | St. Lucia | US Virgin Islands
Since retiring, it seems that every year brings something unique when it comes to travel - for us, at least. Whether it is taking advantage of amazing deals on cruises or flights, traveling to destinations chosen by friends or family, pandemic restrictions, buying an RV or exploring our home country on extended RV vacations, there is always something unprecedented that impacts when and where we travel. This year, we threw our purchase of a vacation condo into the mix.
We logged the fewest number of camping nights of any full calendar year since purchasing our RV 5 1/2 years ago. We only camped for a total of 28 nights during 2022, and the price of fuel impacted the distances that we towed "RV There Yet?". As the year wrapped up, it was only in our home state of Texas plus Florida and Louisiana where we camped overnight.
After over two years of cancellations and significant travel restrictions due to the pandemic, we finally felt comfortable adding European travel back into our schedule. It felt really good to spend a week exploring Italy on our own followed by back-to-back cruises with port days in Cyprus, Israel, Greece, Spain and Portugal.
Being able to travel further didn't put a stop on Caribbean travel for the two of us. Between cruise travel and staying at an all-inclusive resort, we enjoyed time on the islands of Puerto Rico, Antigua, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, St. Kitts, St. Lucia and the US Virgin Islands.
We rounded out our 2022 travels with beach days in Alabama and Hawaii plus time with family in Missouri and Kansas. A little math tells us that, in total, we slept away from home on 55% of the year's nights (202), our third highest number of travel days since retiring. Don't miss reading this Travel Blogger Year in Review for a brief summary of each trip (plus loads of photos).
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As we've done in previous years, we kept a close watch on our travel expenses. Since we retired rather early, we are focused on ensuring that we don't outlive our savings. Our total travel expenses for the year were well below the budget that we set for ourselves. Unlike during the previous two years, we spent significantly less in the camping/RV vacation category. This was no surprise since we spent far less time traveling across the country in "RV There Yet?". The one category where we went slightly over budget was in lodging. When setting our budget, we didn't anticipate as many road trips between Texas, Florida and Missouri. To break up the long drives, we frequently stayed in a hotel for one night during our travels in each direction.
Our 178 Days of Travel in 2020
Our 180 Days of Travel in 2019
Our 223 Days of Travel in 2018
Our 163 Days of Travel in 2017
Our 106 Days of Travel in 2016
January 2022: Gulf & Southeast Coast Winter RV Getaway (20 nights)
After spending the first day of 2022 with friends in sunny south Florida, we began our journey back to the state's panhandle. Since we were pulling "RV There Yet?", we made a two-night stop in Inglis to break up the long drive. From there, our first stop in the panhandle was a return stay at Camping on the Gulf in Miramar Beach where we had four nights to enjoy the white sandy beach, hot tub and more.
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After leaving Miramar Beach, we traveled a short distance east to Pineglen Motorcoach & RV Park in Panama City Beach. Our stay in PCB was exciting and also a little scary at the same time. It was during this 11-night stay that we finalized the purchase on our "new to us" vacation condo. After receiving our keys, we had just a few days to enjoy the amazing gulf view (and make some plans for what we could do to make the condo "our own").
Before arriving at our Austin area home, we returned to Cajun Palms RV Resort in Henderson, Louisiana. This was the same resort where we spent two nights in November 2021 after leaving home for our 72 night road trip. We didn't know it at the time, but this trip ended up being our longest journey with our RV in all of 2022.
January - February 2022: Eastern Caribbean Cruise (12 Nights)
One week after returning home, we hit the road to the Austin airport for a flight to Tampa. We chose a hotel with transportation to the Port of Tampa where we would embark on an 11-night cruise aboard the Norwegian Dawn.Norwegian Cruise Line required that all passengers be tested for Covid-19 at the port. Passengers were not allowed onboard until they were confirmed to be negative. From that point on, face masks were optional while onboard, but passengers were, of course, required to abide by all restrictions still in place during port days.
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We docked at the new Taino Bay Cruise Terminal in Puerto Plata on our first port day. Of our six ports of call, Puerto Plata was the only port that we were visiting for the first time. (Although we have vacationed at all-inclusive resorts in the Dominican Republic, this was our first cruise ship stop at the island.).
Because we had previously visited all of the remaining ports, we opted to stay within walking distance of the ship in St. Thomas, USVI, St. John, Antigua, Basseterre, St. Kitts and San Juan, Puerto Rico. Unfortunately, passengers not on an approved excursion, were prohibited from leaving the small terminal shopping area in Castries, St. Lucia due to island restrictions.
February - April 2022: Panama City Beach, Florida (61 nights)
After being at home for just two nights, we were already on the road - this time headed back to our Panama City Beach condo (without our RV). We weren't sure how long we would be away, but thought maybe a month or so. We knew we had no upcoming trips planned, so we had the flexibility to stay as long as we needed in order to make our condo rental ready.
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We started by painting all of the cabinets in the kitchen, owner's suite, guest bath and bunk room. Our new kitchen appliances were delivered at about the time that we finished painting, but we held off on installing them until our friends came up from south Florida to help us install a backsplash. While working on the kitchen, we realized that, to meet our goal of being a five-star rated rental condo, we shouldn't wait to replace the carpeting.
What we thought might be a month long endeavor in PCB turned into almost exactly two months. Once the major work was complete, we spent time on furniture arrangement, decorating, purchasing needed amenities, choosing a name and deciding how to advertise Sky High Beach Vibes. There's no telling how many Amazon orders we placed, nor how many deliveries we received! We didn't really think about all of the little things that we would need to do. (I have never washed as many towels and linens as I did during our stay!)
By mid-April, we had transformed what was a beach condo into Sky High Beach Vibes. Our slice of paradise was finally ready to share with families vacationing on Florida's Emerald Coast and we were ready to head back to Texas.
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April 2022: Dallas, Texas (1 night)
Because of our longer than expected stay in PCB, we traded tickets for a Broadway Across America performance in Austin for a later production in Dallas. Although we only spent one night in the north Texas city, we packed a lot into our two-day stay. After seeing a matinee performance of "Jesus Christ Superstar", we met a former work colleague and her husband for dinner and dessert in Trinity Grove. Before returning to Austin the following day, we spent our Easter Sunday taking pictures along the Bluebonnet Trails in Ennis, Texas.May 2022: Kansas City, Missouri and Panama City Beach, Florida (13 nights)
As May rolled around, we realized that if we headed to the Kansas City area for a week, we could time our visit to coincide with Mother's Day, Scott's parents' 63rd anniversary and Scott's birthday. In between family celebrations, we took a few day trips to neighboring towns for some sightseeing. With Scott's brother, we spent a day in Topeka exploring the Evel Knievel Museum and the Kansas State Capitol.While in Kansas City, one of our vacation rental guests alerted us that they had trouble using our cable TV. This became the perfect excuse for us to make a return visit to PCB to check on our condo after our first two rentals! Before hitting the road, we spent our last day in Missouri at YaYa's Alpaca Farm and Powell Gardens.
Fortunately, all was well at Sky High Beach Vibes, and after just two short days we headed back home leaving the condo ready for our next guest.
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May 2022: Spring Branch, Texas (2 nights)
One of my childhood friends sent us the dates of several weekend camping trips that she had planned with her sister. We decided to join them at Guadalupe River State Park. Although we only spent two days together, it was fun to catch up and do some hiking in a state park not far from home!May - June 2022: Runaway Bay, Jamaica (9 nights)
Since our first all-inclusive stay with friends in 2018, we've enjoyed at least one resort stay each year (except during 2020). Of the four all-inclusive resorts where we've stayed, one of our favorites was Bahia Principe Luxury Runaway Bay.
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Flying in from three different states, we had slightly different arrival and departure schedules, but meeting two other couples in Jamaica was a relaxing escape. Dining, snorkeling, adult beverages, activities and entertainment made for another fun-filled 9 night stay.
June 2022: Port O'Connor, Texas (4 nights)
One of my former colleagues retired early in 2022, and shortly thereafter relocated to Port O'Connor, Texas with her husband. They invited us down for a return visit to what used to be their weekend retreat. Unfortunately the weather didn't cooperate during some of our stay, but we made the most of it and had fun doing so. We fished, relaxed on the beach, shopped, strolled on the sandy shore and played many games of Farkle!July 2022: El Campo and Austin, Texas (9 nights)
After a hot July day, we started talking about how nice it would be to float in a river. That conversation gave me the idea to search for nearby RV parks with lazy rivers. What a great search that turned out to be, as we discovered Lost Lagoon RV Resort in El Campo, Texas.Lost Lagoon is home to the "world's largest RV resort swimming pool". There were plenty of choices for getting into the water - walking through the beach-like zero entry, dropping off of the rope swing, sliding or climbing down a traditional ladder. Although the resort had so much more to offer, we spent most of our seven days floating on the 500 foot long lazy river.
At just under 150 miles from our home, the resort is a place where we will return. (In fact, we may make it an annual tradition!)
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As our week was winding down, we realized that we weren't ready for the heat of summer. We had been wanting to return to McKinney Falls State Park and we found a campsite that would accommodate our RV with availability for two nights. An online reservation allowed us to put off returning home for a couple of days. Due to such a dry summer, the waterfalls were more like water trickles, but we were still able to float in the pool below the Upper Falls.
August 2022: Orange Beach, Alabama (5 nights)
We had a rather odd way of choosing Orange Beach, Alabama as our destination for an inexpensive five night getaway. We had airline vouchers that were expiring, so we searched for places where we could fly round trip for $250.00 per person. The other caveat was that there had to be a Hilton family hotel where we could redeem points for four nights and get a fifth night for free.Our five days proved to us that there is lots more to see and do than just the beach in and around the Alabama coast. Since our Panama City Beach condo was just a few hours away, we were also able to sneak in a day visit to check on things after hosting guests for 12 weeks since our last visit.
August 2022: Kauai, Hawaii (7 nights)
During the final days of our June stay in Jamaica, we were alerted to a sale on Southwest Airlines for select beach destinations. After multiple queries, we selected flights for an encore visit to Kauai. We reserved a condo on VRBO that worked perfectly for the two of us and our travel buddies who agreed to join us. (This was our first VRBO reservation as guests, but the same platform that we host other families who are visiting PCB.)
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We did some sightseeing, a little hiking, ate lots of ice cream (and other yummy meals) and spent time snorkeling at both Poipu Beach and Anini Beach. Between the two, we saw at least three Hawaiian monk seals, a couple of sea turtles, an eel, a baby eagle ray and too many varieties of fish to count.
September 2022: Galveston and Fredericksburg, Texas (7 nights)
For our second consecutive year, we stayed at Galveston Island KOA Holiday during KOA Rewards Weekend. In addition to the traditional cake and beer tasting, the RV Park had many more activities this year compared to last. Our four night stay also gave us one last chance to float in a lazy river before our upcoming end of year travels.We returned home for one night, but this time left "RV There Yet?" packed and loaded for an early morning departure. We were then off to Fredericksburg for our last three nights of camping in 2022. Our campsite at The Vineyards of Fredericksburg RV Park was a pretty easy drive to and from Garrison Brothers Distillery. It was at the distillery where we "worked" for two days at a volunteer bottling event.
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Our volunteer team was responsible for dipping the already filled and corked bottles in wax and "starring" the bottle tops. After eating a light breakfast cooked by the distillery's onsite chef each day, we worked until he had prepared a hearty lunch for all of the volunteers. Quitting time was at about 4:00 each afternoon, and both days included a number of quality control samples!
September - December 2022: Florida, Cruising the Mediterranean & Atlantic and Kansas City (39 nights)
Although we were away from home longer earlier in the year, we spent the vast majority of our time working to make our newly purchased beach condo rental ready. Our 39 nights away starting in late September were all for fun - well, almost! We did spend a few days replacing the bathroom vent fans, adding a trundle bed and purchasing some additional amenities for Sky High Beach Vibes.
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Our first week of truly enjoying and having fun in the area surrounding our condo was in early October when friends from south Florida visited. In addition to trying some new restaurants, we spotted dolphins from our balcony, sailed aboard Island Time on a Shell Island Snorkel Cruise, explored St. Andrews State Park, relaxed on the white sandy beaches for which the city is best known and more.
From Panama City Beach, we headed to southeast Florida where we would board a flight to Europe, our first long haul flight since late 2019. After landing in Florence, Italy, we spent our few evening hours returning to some of our favorite places. Early the following morning, we boarded a train bound for Italy's Cinque Terre region. We hiked, explored, hiked, ate, hiked, soaked in some awesome views and hiked some more on each of the "five lands".
From Monterosso, our Cinque Terre "home base", we traveled to the port city of Civitavecchia. Before boarding a cruise ship that would eventually bring us back to the states, we spent the final day of our pre-cruise expedition at two thermal baths dating back over 2,000 years.
Our 25 days aboard the Royal Caribbean Odyssey of the Seas brought us from Italy to Cyprus, Israel, Greece, back to Italy and then on to Spain, Portugal and Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The first 19 days were filled with some small group tours, sightseeing on our own, lots of history and a little bit of relaxing. We had more time to relax and enjoy the onboard amenities during our final six days at sea.
After spending a few days with friends in south Florida, we returned to Panama City Beach where Scott's sister celebrated Thanksgiving with us. We left just in time to make it to the Broadway Across America production of "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas" in New Orleans. We found the time to nosh on beignets during our short stay since no visit to the Crescent City is complete without enjoying the sweet delicacy for which the city is known.
Since no one turns 90 years old more than once, we made a rather last minute decision to make an out of the way stop in Kansas City, Missouri on our drive between Louisiana and Texas. Although our stay was only for three nights, at least we got to celebrate a milestone birthday with Scott's mom.
December 2022: Panama City Beach, Florida (13 nights)
Scott's son joined us for a few days in Panama City Beach just before Christmas. Unfortunately, the temperatures were unseasonably cold during most of his stay. Wouldn't you know, the day after he left we were back to wearing short sleeves again!The only "work" that we did during our end of year visit was to install a new kitchen sink. Although the installation took more time (and trips to Home Depot) than it should have, it's so nice to have a deeper sink with a brand new (clean) faucet.
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We bid goodbye to 2022 and hello to 2023 at the annual Beach Ball Drop at Pier Park, the retail, dining and entertainment district in PCB. Although you won't usually find us at events like this, we both agreed that it was a fun evening. The temperature was perfect, the music was great and counting down to the new year as the beach ball dropped was a first for us!
How to Learn More about Destinations that We've Visited
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What's on the Horizon for The Wordy Explorers in 2023?
After more limited advanced planning during the past two years due to uncertainty caused by the pandemic (or planned travel being postponed or cancelled), we have started to pre-plan again. (In fact, we have already planned some travel for 2024!) Our preliminary plans for the upcoming year include:- Help prepare a family rental property in Kansas City, Missouri for sale;
- Join friends on a 7-night Caribbean Cruise aboard the Royal Caribbean Allure of the Seas;
- Road trip to the Florida panhandle to enjoy the beach and prepare Sky High Beach Vibes for a (hopefully) busy rental season;
Everyone Loves the View from 17 Floors Above the Emerald Coast - Explore the Northern Island of New Zealand on a self-planned road trip before sailing aboard the Grand Princess between Auckland and Vancouver, Canada; Before returning home, see all that we can of Vancouver in five days;
- Late spring / early summer RV camping trips(s) in our home state of Texas;
- Summertime relaxation (and hopefully some snorkeling too) during a stay at an all-inclusive resort somewhere (most likely in the Caribbean);
- After cancellations in 2020, 2021 and 2022, we again have reservations to fly to Zanzibar, Tanzania for four days of exploring with Scott's brother and sister-in-law before the four of us join a private guide for a National Park Safari from Arusha to Nairobi; A flight to Victoria Falls will bring us to one of the world's largest waterfalls and a second safari - this time inside Chobe National Park; Before leaving Africa, we have five days scheduled to explore Cape Town, South Africa on our own;
- Southwest United States RV trip with a stop in Phoenix, Arizona to visit family; and
- Enjoy the amenities of Sky High Beach Vibes with friends during the less crowded fall months.
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The Year Ahead
What travel plans have you made for 2023 and, of your planned destinations, which are you most excited about and why?|
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