Writing on the Road

And so the Journey Begins

One of the most difficult things I’ve found to do on the road is write. Karl and I have not traveled that much outside of Texas so we’re finding new experiences around each corner and spending time writing was not top on my list. Before we left, it was a different story. We were in a mad rush to get everything done, including putting the house on the market, before we left. I think I’m finally taking a deep breath, enjoying life away from the 7am-7pm routine of nursing and I’m finding my love of writing once again.

If you’re keeping up with my blog then you know I write romance. My first book was published by Kensington way back in 2000. Most writers do not get rich off their writing. I’m no exception. I’m lucky to have taken retirement at 62 and writing does supplement that, occasionally. Karl and I did discover we could live with a little more freedom buying a fifth wheel RV. Someone once said they envied me. I explained to them that anyone could enjoy this kind of lifestyle. You only need to put all that you value into two shoeboxes, then give away, sell or store what’s left. We did a little of all three.

We’re finally on the road! So far it has been fantastic. The first night we stayed in Choudrant, LA in a roadside park. Cost: free. We couldn’t let the sides out but that was okay. It was a pretty little area. Since we have solar panels, we ran two small bedside fans since it was a little warm, plus it blocked any noise from the big rigs pulling in.

We stayed the next two nights at an Escapee Club, Bushnell in Alabama) which is so worth the membership price which is less than $40 a year. We boondocked (used no hookups) while we were there at a cost of $7.50 a night. The park was absolutely beautiful and the hosts were great! The spaces were very tight but since there were only one other RVer boondocking we had plenty of space. We were a little disappointed in the beaches. They cost $5 for 4 hours. The white sand was really pretty, though.

From there we boondocked one night at another Escapee Club, Rainbow Plantation in Florida, again at $7.50 a night. Not as many amenities and the park wasn’t as pretty but the trade-off was being close to a lot of attractions.

We spent 7 days at Fort Wilderness at Disney World. The spaces were really, really tight and we had to back our fifth wheel past the paved pad so we would fit. Next time we go we’ll probably spend less days, but we will definitely go again.

Savannah, GA was breathtaking! We did the daytime trolley tour which was about $20 each but you can get on/off at any time. We saw the Mercer house that was used in the movie Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, the bench that Forrest Gump sat on, and the restaurant that Julia Roberts caught in when he was with another woman from the movie Something to Talk About. They tell you a lot of history on the tours like the fact Spanish Moss isn’t really a Spanish or moss, it’s some kind of air plant. Very cool to see it draping the trees. We stayed at and RV park which was our splurge at $40 a night but it did come with full hookups, although no amenities. 

Now we’re in the Great Smokey Mountains. Wow! I found my inspiration for the next book in my series here. Because we’re staying 11 days I have plenty of downtime to write and still enjoy the views, hiking, Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg and the small, but wonderful, town of Cherokee. I’ll be posting lots of pics to my website when we get somewhere that we can have internet. I have been posting quite a few on my Facebook page. There is no phone service, no internet etc at our campground, Smokemont. The space was a little tricky because they haven’t opened the RV side yet.  I think May 16^th is when it opens. The price is great, though at $7.50 night with a Sr Pass card, $17.00 without. Toilets, no showers, but there is potable water and a dump station. BTW, if you’re 62 or over you can get a Sr Pass for a one-time fee of $10 and get into any National park for free and camping is half price.

That’s it for this time. If you stumbled on to the blog, please check out my website at www.authorkarenkelley.com I’ve posted some videos and pics on Facebook and you can get to them from there.

Best Wishes and Happy Reading,

Karen Kelley