Paolo's Roadtrip Blog

Last parts of MO

Before I talk about Kansas, I just wanted to share our last camp in Missouri (little town called New Haven).

We were camped by the Missouri River! We even saw a barge go by, sending a heavy ripple across the surface of the water that felt like it lasted for hours; it was like something out of a Mark Twain book.

Our last town in MO was Kansas City, where we tried KC BBQ for the first time. I think we were both in agreement that we prefer other styles of BBQ; while it was delicious there was just something slightly different enough for us to pick up on.

Kansas

After spending a week in Kansas, here are some of the essential takeaways!

Overall

Kansas was hot and muggy almost the whole time we were there. There was little to see or do. Lots of gaps in between populated areas. I got a lot of work done.

Topeka

Topeka, KS was a pretty small and quaint town. It looked like there were a lot of closed businesses; whether that was due to the time of day we were there or if it's always been like that is a mystery. I watched a Youtube video that taught me that "Topeka" comes from a Native American language (maybe Osage?) and it means "Good place to dig up potatoes". That's about all I learned.

We stopped at a brewery a little outside of Topeka called "Happy Basset Brewery" where we were able to camp for the night.

Beer was alright, but the Smashburgers were delightful! I ended up looking up how to make my own smashburgers. J. Kenji Alt-Lopez of Serious Eats says to use an ungreased griddle-top, a ground chuck that's at least 25% fat, and to really smash the meat down (in order to maximize crustiness from the Maillard Reaction).

Lucas

The town of Lucas had a few oddities: The Largest Collection of the Smallest Version of the Largest Things and the Garden of Eden (which I was unable to see as I was in a meeting). Our camp there for the night was by a big lake. I failed to take a picture of that and instead took a picture of the Mediterranean Bowl Spencer had made that night. It took a while to make (one chopping board with lots to prep) but it was worth it

Now where are we?

We just left the visitor's center at Burlington, CO. I took a few glamour shots of Button this morning.

One nice thing I can say about Burlington, CO is that there's a very good restaurant there called "The Dish Room". I orded the "Spider Pig" sandwich with Sweet Corn Tamale on the side, and we had bread pudding for dessert. Food was pretty great and the servers were very friendly. And we got to eat in their patio so Button was with us.

Onwards to Denver!

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Before I describe the campground we were at, I will update everyone with a bit of news: Button is 100% Bichon Frise.

While I was a little skeptical about the news (and somewhat underwhelmed by the lack of data given I spent over $100 for the tests), I will say that it is 100% on the money as far as how he's known for his "clownish antics".

Okay. Onto some deets about the farm:

• It is a seasonal campground (Closes in late October and re-opens in March)
• They are in their 5th season.
• They built a second swimming pool, another deck, and added a new hot tub shortly before their 4th of July weekend.
• They are very popular when they have an event weekend.
• One seasonal spot belongs to the first seasonal resident the camp had ever had, and that spot features "the Welcome Center" where folks go to chat and mingle with other campers. More on this in a little bit.

Friday night was pretty chill. There was a "Christmas Dinner" and we found ourselves in line for it in front of a group of bears (Joe, Luke, Steve, Nathan, Kyle) who welcomed us into their group for the night. I gushed about City Museum to them who were either thinking of going to it at some point, or had gone and had similar opinions to mine. They talked about bear-specific events, and also some bawdy topics like "fisting for the first time". Also some chatter on coming out late (i.e. after having had kids) which was fascinating to me.

On Saturday the pool was practically standing-room-only. Spencer and I were pretty overwhelmed from the volume of people there. We had plenty of fun and interesting conversations though. A human pup group was in attendance, wearing their leather dog masks and making animal noises. A vast majority of folks there were from either the St. Louis or Kansas City urban areas but a few outliers were ourselves, a pup who came in from Lincoln, Nebraska and a Utahn couple. Some conversation recaps:

• Talked to a guy named Robbie about earthquakes and man's tiny existence on earth
• Talked to a guy named Al about Cybersecurity
• Talked to a pup named Kyle (the one from Lincoln, Nebraska) about his pup subculture. It was a fascinating discussion about escapism and sex. (To be noted Kyle was both stoned and drunk and I was fully sober).
• Talked to a couple, Ransom and Ryan, about relationship stuff and generalized gay life.
• Talked to a guy named Ross about driving, namely how he's been driving since he was 10. I found that marvelous.
• Talked to another guy named Kyle who brought up how his apartment burned down and he's been living with his supportive mother.

The Welcome Center on Saturday night was packed. I learned from a handsome man in a leather harness (I think his name was John) the political history of Missouri: during the Civil War, Missouri was a part of the Louisiana Purchase and bisected by the Mason-Dixon line. Loyalties lied not along a specific latitude, but followed the river lines: since river beds were flat enough for plantation-style farming, the Confederacy and sympathisers mostly existed along the rivers, while the subsistence-farming Union sympathisers were often more inland. He also suggested that we go through Springfield, MO and follow Route 66, as there was a lot to see and do there. In fact, our brief time at the Welcome Center gave us a lot of ideas for Missouri (perhaps for future trips). A town named Uranus with a well-known Fudge Factory. Other gay campgrounds (Dawgwoodz and Cactus Canyon came up frequently).

Sunday we spent the whole afternoon at a hottub and eventually made good friends with some Iowans (Ben, Mike, and Gary) who all travelled here together. I talked their ears off about computer stuff and they were polite enough to listen actively. I learned a lot about what's in Des Moines: the Iowa State Fair and the Farmer's Market seemed to be standouts. Also, we all received news at the same time of Biden stepping down from the candidacy, which lent an air of significance to our hot tub time. They invited us over to their camper for dinner where we had burgers and ribs and met a couple named Steve. There was a camper tour (it's always delightful to see other rigs), and they sent us away with leftover meats and an invitation to stay at their places if ever we end up in Iowa!

I really enjoyed this campground; the facilities clearly had a lot of investment put into them, and the sense of community was about as strong as any we found at any of the campgrounds in the South.

We're passing through Kansas City this evening, and from here we'll be going westwards!

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We actually hit up a lot of states between here and Tennessee. I will summarize them for you.

Kentucky

We did our laundry here and we bathed Button at a car wash. Let me explain:

While Spencer went to do the laundry at a laundromat, he left me at a car wash with Button. The car wash had 2 dedicated rooms for a "dog wash" which included a surface, a loop for attaching a leash, a hose for water, and a hose for air, attached to a money collecting machine. For $5, I can turn the hoses on for 10 minutes. Button is a furry dog, so I figured I had enough cash on me for 2 cycles.

I put in $5 with Button at the ready, and took 3 precious minutes trying to figure out how to turn on either hose (they were nondescript buttons on the money collecting machine). The time ran out, and as I went to put more money in, I realized I was $1 short of another cycle.

A half-wet Button and I walked around the car wash, found a nonfunctioning bill exchange (I had a $20 that I couldn't break anywhere), and then despaired until Spencer dropped by with a $1 bill. Button definitely got dry after 10 full glorious minutes of air hose time.

Illinois

We went to Shawnee National Park! I got heat sick at the Garden of the Gods and took a long nap at the campground. We took Button stand-up paddle boarding in their lake thing. Very peaceful. The campfire Spencer made the first night was magnificent. The campfire I made the next day was pathetic ( all smoke, no fire).

Missouri

We been here a while! I was prepared to not like Missouri (someone I know who visited all 50 states before age 30 told me it was his least favorite).

It's been surprising!

After I finished work our first night in St. Louis, Spencer pulled up to a crazy-looking warehouse. Lots of rebar connecting the higher floors of this ware house to various other things supported by rebar (like 2 decommissioned planes, a castle turret, a jungle hut). We go inside and it's 4 floors of strangeness. They had a 5 story slide. A tangle of rebar that you can climb down to go from the 3rd floor to the other floors. Various aquariums. Random holes that open up to other randome holes in the building. I felt like a kid again. That place was called the City Museum. No idea what the story is behind this place, but it is now forever the place I'll identify with St. Louis.

We spent one night at a Cracker Barrel parking lot.

Had another night at one part of the Ozarks at a Boondockers Welcome host; the most notable event was that after a 5 minute hike, we all came back covered in ticks. After quickly googling, I made sure we: 1. Noted the date 2. Took showers with lots of scrubbing 3. Monitored Button for ticks after picking a few off of him. 4. Bought spray bottles and rubbing alcohol from Walmart and sprayed the affected clothes and shoes to kill the remaining ticks.

Last night we stayed at a campground at Lake of the Ozarks, and managed to snag in 1.5 hours of paddleboarding before it got dark! The lake had some interesting caves in a cliffside. I wish I had more pictures because the experience was stunning. Button fell in pretty early. I made the campfire that night and redeemed myself: it was the best campfire of the trip so far.

Tonight we're at a winery (Harvest Host)! They're called 7 Springs, and they sell some really interesting wines. Our burgers were dry, but the red wine we paired it with was drier, so in a weird way our meal was pretty good! Their outdoor seating was interesting; terraces separated by lots of plants and fountains everywhere, all facing a large hill/mountain across a ravine. Overall a fun meal.

This weekend is another gay campground: SIRenity Farms! We hear they're doing a Christmas in July event, so we'll need to find Santa garb at a Dollar General somewhere.

In what felt like a seamless transition, we passed from Alabama over into Tennessee.

A few of the roads we went down were pretty remote and winding. It was spooky!

Spencer found a stop where you could walk 900 ft to the foot of a waterfall. I struggle to remember if this was in Alabama or Tennessee.

Last night, we had a romantic dinner by the Tennessee river. I set a fire with our portable fire pit and Spencer grilled pork chops. We played some records that we bought in Hunstville: Emmylou Harris and Willie Nelson.

Tonight we're camped in Memphis outside the world's largest and most ominous Bass Pro Shop.

It is shaped like a giant pyramid. I debated with myself about whether to buy a spiffy new shoulder bag. Instead, we bought a new hatchet, some propane for Spencer's portable grill, and a camo trucker cap.

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We're in Huntsville, AL. Stopped at a Cracker Barrel for the night, but spent a good amount of time in their cute Downtown area. Huntsville was where a lot of the German rocket scientists that the US acquired after WWII (Operation Paperclip) went to go design rocketry for US missions to space.

I definitely got a "this is a progressive Southern US town" vibe from the trans-rights bumper stickers and the people with purple colored hair. We bought country records in a cute little record shop. Forgot to buy postcards; I need to be better about that.

Spencer bought a GoPro the other day so we've been role-playing as Youtubers with it. Perhaps I'll post the raw, unedited footage here.

Other than that, nothing too new happened. We stayed at a campground last night and saw fireflies! And this was the first campground in a very long time where I opted to use the van shower over the available showers. But one notable fact about this campground is that it carries the highest point in Alabama (pictured not here) and potentially what is the highest swimming pool in Alabama (also not pictured here).

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Not a very long or detailed post incoming. This last weekend was spent at another gay Campground, CampOut in Alabama. They had a nice clubhouse that I was too afraid to interact with as it seemed "interior designed".

It might be a while before we decide to do another gay campground; as obligate introverts our social batteries were pretty much at capacity the whole time.

Met a nice couple from Mobile (Jeff the paramedic and Isaac the part-time twitch streamer) who told us that the original US Mardi Gras started in Mobile, AL, not NOLA as many people think. Also we learned all about their short, but intense, relationship over the course of the weekend. Overall, I got a good feeling about those two!

Now we're at a winery somewhere in Alabama but north of Birmingham, where we'll camp as they are a Harvest Host. They're called Wills Creek Winery, and they specialize in making wines out of Muscadine grapes. The vintner was telling us about how weird laws in Alabama were around drinking: you couldn't stand and drink at the same time, for instance. He was glad that the laws have since changed. He said in Alabama, there are 26 wineries to date, his winary was the 4th to open in the whole state.

I'm rooting for them to bring wine country to Alabama; the experience we had -- eating cheese and crackers while looking at some hills and remarking on the unseasonably warm weather -- felt one-of-a-kind. To cap things off, a yorkie from a neighboring house came by and peed on Button's face. And everyone laughed.

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Dear Diary,

Spencer and I celebrated our anniversary last night! I can barely believe I've been with this dude for 5-years shy of half my life.

Last year was a more staid affair; we were in Tampa helping take care of Spencer's parents from May through July, so neither of us were in the mood for anniversary shenanigans.

This year however, it is just he and I (and Button) on the open roads.

I was reminiscing to myself about how things were very early in the relationship. I had grand dreams of becoming a doctor and was just about to enter a "hoe phase" (as I thought that I wouldn't have the time for a full relationship).

Enter Spencer, who I almost immediately changed my mind for. He knew what he wanted, and he was upfront and honest. And he was skinny, which was my type at the time as I was also skinny.

Pictured: ChatGPT's portrayal of us as early twentysomethings

Our server, Kimberly, at our anniversary dinner last night at the Grand Marlin in Panama City immediately called us "beautiful" upon hearing that it was our anniversary dinner. And she took as many photos of us as we asked and gave us a free dessert. And then the live musician began playing "God bless the USA" while fireworks went off. I had no idea 14 was such a special year!

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Oz was a good send-off point. Since I last checked in, I remembered at least 30 more gay men's names. There was a whole group from St Petersburg (FL) that we hung around with at the pool. A man named Bill who once worked with Grace Hopper (said she always carried around a little black purse and was as smart as a whip). Met some fellow travelling tech workers who spent a substantial amount of time, shutters drawn, playing video games. And then there was Darren and Steven, who invited us to "Naked Badminton". Oh and Keith, who owned a cabin across the lake and is an attorney in Atlanta. He keeps tabs on the ducks (Huey, Louie, and Dewey) as well as an asshole peacock (named Bobby).

I bought a tank top with a Stranger Things-esque logo that said "Stranger's Loads".

Overall, it was a good experience; if I could change anything about it, it would be the gnats. They were everywhere. Next time we go (which will likely be around Halloween) we'll be sure to bring what everyone said was the secret remedy: Equate (i.e. Walmart-brand) spray-on sunscreen.

Last night we stayed at a Boondocker's Welcome site, across from a cemetary. The description of this site was as follows: "the neighbors are very quiet".

We made it to a state park in Panama City today. While we were waiting for our site to clear, we had lunch on what felt like the surface of the sun. I had a dry buffalo chicken sandwich. Spencer had a dry shrimp po'boy. We shared a basket of jalapeno gator fritters. Spencer overheard a few juicy pieces of hot goss:

1. A dead body was found in the water earlier today. That wasn't the reason however why the water was closed to the public.
2. A woman was left at the park by her boyfriend who took all their surroundings home with him. She simply needed a ride back to the front of the park, where she could take an Uber or something home (which was not all that far away).
3. Our site was being occupied by some people who were refusing to leave. The park rangers were threatening to call the actual police.

After lunch, Spencer drove us to a parking lot somewhere and walked into a gym, during which I sat in the van as a storm rolled in and threatened to flip it over.

The site we're at had a little firepit, so we setup a campfire. We initially set up some string lights, but the bug situation here was made worse with them up, so we took them back down. I caught up with a friend on Instagram chat and now we here.

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Caption: Button quivering, with anticip.....ation!

After a morning of errands, we set out from Atlanta at around 2PM.

My plant dilemma was solved by noon. I found out that Bridgette (the hardy shrub who I didn't know the species of) had sadly passed on; her roots were no longer attached to the rest of her, which explained her quick decline. I gave her a quick burial and sent her on her way; in her place I plopped in Angelo (pilea) and Violetta (the iris), and got on of our neighbors to care for them while we were gone.

Caption: First day at Kevin/Tamer's plant daycare!

I then put Crown in the same jar as Banana and put them in a cup holder. Easy peasy.

The drive over was pretty uneventful aside from the nonstop singing. The playlist was Rocky Horror and also whatever Spotify had for pride. It's raining men, YMCA, I'm every woman.

We got to Oz at about 5PM and had dinner at the poolside cafe. A man named David was running the bar. After he got us our drinks (frozen banana margaritas) he told us about how this was his third attempt at retirement. The first attempt sapped $5000 from his bank account without his knowing where any of it went. The second attempt involved him getting on a cruise and then never getting off it. His current attempt sounds busy: he works the poolside cafe until 8pm and then he works the kinky leather shop (aka Bulldogs Leather) from 8pm on. I like his third approach to retirement: I could see myself working several part time jobs in my retirement; I could only spend so much time doing crossword puzzles.

After some walking around, we visited the bar/dance floor that Oz was known for; it had a splendid vibe (pictured below).

We were approached by three full-time residents, at separate times, that gave us generally positive accounts of how life was at Oz.

C introduced himself shortly after we got our drinks (beers: Spencer got a Yuengling and I got a Corona). I'm blanking on if he actually told us anything about himself, but he gave us a strong impression that Oz is heaven on earth for a lot of folks living there or visiting there regularly.

N was getting ready to play pool when he introduced himself. After losing his game, he chatted with us for a bit. He said life at Oz was so-so, it could be dramatic sometimes but also so fun. He loves that new people come by all the time. After speaking to him for a while, I could tell he actually really liked living here (which he has been doing for 11 years now). He asked how long Spencer and I were together and we proudly told him 14 years in July. He told us that's how long his last marriage lasted with his husband; by year 11 his husband told him he wanted out. At that point I could feel my age, or lack of it.

F came by shortly after and chatted us up as well. Also a fan of Oz, primarily because the culture there was inviting. He himself was telling us how he thinks everyone has a rich inner life, and Oz is a great place to share your own with like-minded folks. His own inner story is one of getting through a separation with his current husband. Without going into details, his life at Oz gives him a good amount of support to get him through this time, to say nothing of the hijinks he could get up to. He also mentioned how the man who started the "gay campground" trend through Facebook groups is an Oz resident.

As we were leaving, F told us we were bound to make a lot of good friends here.

Obligatory sleeping dog picture incoming:

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While Spencer is making many trips between Vanjie (our van) and the apartment with stuff, I've been testing out the Steam Deck setup that I'll be using to blog our trip, and it only took me 5 minutes to get everything plugged in!

I also have a plant dilemma. I have a bunch of plants that may need care while we're out (unless I can convince Spencer I can take them with me).

Since we aren't leaving until noon, I may have time to figure out what to do with them. I have an iris named Violetta, a bunch of chinese money plants (Angelo, Crown, and Monica), a monstera propagation named Banana, and a terracotta pot with a dying little shrub that I named Bridgette. I figure it will be one of the following:

• leave plant(s) outside
• contact neighbors and offer them our apartment in exchange for plant care
• smuggle plants into Vanjie

Anyways going to get some sleep!

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Hello world!

This is my roadtrip blog, where I'll keep track of my thoughts as we traverse the country. My husband (Spencer), dog (Button), and I are starting in Atlanta, GA and heading to the West Coast.

It's always fun to see Button interacting with the world.

Our first stop is Unadilla, GA from June 27 - June 30. It's at a gay campground called Oz Campground, which is known in the gay campground community for their large dance floor. We've been to two other gay campgrounds before and we've always felt pretty welcome. It also feels right to go to a gay campground at the end of Pride.

Next post will probably come at some point while we're there, although we'll see if I keep up with this or not.

Here's a picture of a cool orchid I saw at the ATL Botanical Gardens.

Its species name is Macodes sanderiana, which is known as the Lightning Orchid.

This sort of reminds me of the album cover to "Moog Sensations".

I'm definitely not posting these images here to simply test out my work flow for how I'm going to add to this blog.

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