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I’m not going to mince words. Day #1 was exhausting. To name a few contributing factors, no REM sleep the night before the morning roll-out, Nova nervous panted the entire trip, rest stops walking two dogs took FOREVER, and just getting to the campground after the HWY exit took 45 minutes! So a four-hour drive stretched into six. Nova’s expression in this photo taken shortly after arrival says it all.

And yet, the campground was beautiful and perfect beyond belief. I wanted the first stop to not make demands on my newbie boondocking skills. Access to my campsite water and electrical hook-up was easy. Having a personal dump station at my campsite amazed me. My dry run for the trip at Hillsborough State Park required you to drive your vehicle to a common dump site.

It was hot and buggy upon arrival to our campsite. All we wanted to do was nap. So we did just that. A thunderstorm rolled in as I finished off a bottle of nice red wine, a travel gift from a friend. Nothing more happened the rest of the day, a few brief exploratory evening walks around the camp to scope out potential morning walks and then an early bedtime.

Morning stretched past check-out. But that famous southern hospitality was on full display when staff checked on me to inquire about my departure. By the time we fully explored, did some yoga, and had a leisurely breakfast, we didn’t leave until 2:30, check-out was 12.