HMS Beangle

Welcome aboard! We're sailing across North America in our Bean Stalker teardrop trailer. Come share our journey.

Tag: Tourist Mode

  • No Swimming or wading: Alligators

    The irony of writing about the warmest week we’ve spent in Florida while wearing parkas, gloves, and stocking caps is not lost upon me. It’s cold here in north-central Florida at the moment. Cold cold cold. My hope is we’ll soon see the back side of anything below 40°F for a while. I fear we…

  • The Casual Coast

    After a few days at a rather lackluster north Florida RV park that had weekend availability, our free and easy lack of reservations travel style was beginning to become an issue. Heading down the western coast, we were very lucky to grab two nights at Little Manatee River State Park outside of Bradenton. Considering its…

  • La Florida

    Florida is living up to its tourist posters: bright, warm, and beautiful. And as I watch the northeast and Midwest descend into ice, snow, and wind chill chaos, Florida’s reputation as a winter refuge is solidified. Now that we’re near the southern end, it’s become hot and humid. The mosquitoes were apparently late coming back…

  • Traveler’s Rest

    We finally made it out of Georgia on Monday the 5th and are now sitting on a very lovely, very sandy barrier island on the Florida panhandle. It’s quiet and peaceful and the local cafe has delicious gluten-free & dairy-free goodies. The Oatmeal Cream Pie made me close my eyes in awe. Gluten-Free Bakery Girl…

  • Ashtabula

    In Pendleton, South Carolina, two restored plantation homes are owned by a nonprofit organization tasked with researching, restoring, and educating the public about the area’s history through educational tours. Educational tours, you say? Step aside, folks, step aside. I’m coming across that big veranda with its ceiling painted ‘haint’ blue to stop ghosts from crossing…

  • What’s the frequency, Kenneth?

    Merry Christmas to all who celebrate it. We spent the lead up to the Winter Solstice re-watching the Harry Potter series, like we do every year, like we did every year when Ian lived at home, and like the three of us did separately after he moved away. I still enjoy the movies and the…

  • Triple Boone

    (Jeff said that my last post, a ‘Why can’t I sleep?’ special, sounds like everything was all done in a single day. It was not. It covered four days.) After leaving Indiana, we crossed into Kentucky and headed west for Bourbon Country, a little American Revolution history, and unknowingly a lot of Daniel Boone. While…

  • It’s pronounced Past-ee

    When we heard that some of our favorite people were going to be camping near Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, we decided to head to Munising, MI. We didn’t know what to expect with the governmental shutdown, but even if we couldn’t get into the park, we knew we wanted to see Rob and Kate. If…

  • The terrain in Badlands National Park speaks for itself, so I’m going to just post some photos and keep the commentary to a minimum. Phone viewing tip: turn your screen brightness all the way up, set True Tone on (iPhones only?), and turn night shift off. It will make a big difference here. We want…

  • Deadwood, SD

    Long a fan of Wild West history, Jeff has been wanting to go to Deadwood, South Dakota, for ages, so it only made sense that it be our first true destination. After leaving Wind Cave on Monday, we headed north and grabbed breakfast in the town of Custer after a brief moment of terror where…