Day 2: 2/20/21 11:02pm
We woke up this morning in Liz and Reed’s (very, very comfy) guest bed and the morning was a whirlwind after that… Walking the dogs, showering, and saying goodbye and getting off to our separate activities. Zak and I were both so grateful to have spent time with such great friends, but it was also nice to have some real free time to ourselves. These past 9 months have been great, but also STRESSFUL. Between working full time for Zak, applying to medical school, tutoring, and living in a space that was not our own, we did not often have downtime to just hang out and recuperate. We felt like we had a time limit on the van, so when we weren’t working-working, we were working on the van. It felt so amazing to drive toward Tybee Island today with absolutely no schedule and no commitments!
We parked and had breakfast/lunch at a restaurant/bar called the Rock House. Zak had a breakfast burger because he needs his eggs in the morning. I had fish n chips, because I like fish n chips and don’t really like breakfast! It was so nice to sit in the sun, to lounge, to eat, to just enjoy.
After lunch we went into the best ACE Hardware and we got some things to make our home-on-wheels a bit cozier and more organized (mostly hooks and a bag for our tools). Auggie got to come in too and she got snacks and treats from SO many people! We also went to Goodwill to drop off MORE things in the van that we do not actually need.
Our last stop before finding a spot to sleep was Kroger. We napped in the Kroger parking lot and then got groceries. It’s nice to have a small food storage space because it necessitates that we eat up all of our food before we get more. We also don’t have the space for the usual unhealthy snacks that I would have bought at the house (ice cream, chips, etc.) Hopefully this is the start of a healthier eating lifestyle for me. I have a terrible sweet tooth (and snack tooth?), so hopefully this small space will help me!
While we were hanging out at Kroger, we got to talk to our close friend from the AT, Nurse. (His real name is Zach, but his trail-name was Nurse, so that is what we still call him…). Anyhow, Nurse is a nurse (of course) and he is quitting his job at the hospital that he is working at in Boston to hike the CDT (Continental Divide Trail). I believe he will be starting in late March. Zak and I are both so excited for him. There is nothing that compares to a long-distance hike! The CDT is much less populated and quite a bit more rugged than the AT (as far as I have heard), but I’ve also heard that you can do slightly longer miles each day because it doesn’t bring you up and over every mountain in sight! Hopefully we will be able to meet up with him for a little stretch while he is out there— and at the very least, maybe we can pick him up and get him a shower and a ton of food— the ultimate hiker treat.
We headed back towards Tybee as it was getting dark to find a spot to sleep. Truthfully, I was very anxious. On the AT, I always felt a little anxious not knowing exactly where I was going to sleep, and this felt similar.
We drove past a lot of road pulls offs, and then finally we saw the parking lot outside of the entrance to Fort Pulaski, which we are now in. We are not entirely sure if this is an okay place to park, but it does not say that there is “no overnight parking” so we will give it a shot!
This is our first real night in the van! I even made dinner tonight with the induction stove! And the microwave! We finally popped our champagne that I had gotten for Zak’s birthday back in early January. Dinner tonight was amazing. I made chicken breasts and a medley of sautéed sweet potatoes, carrots, onions, and summer squash. It’s a goal of ours to start shopping locally at farmers markets etc.
I think, so we are not stuck tomorrow, I am going to look up nice places to camp/ stay on iOverlander. Goodnight world! Day number 1 was an awesome adventure. 🙂
